Between the Two
by No Pain No Gain
Summary: Sequel to Past,Present,Future. Link and Tetra set out for another adventure that is closer than they think. Seperating between two alternate universes,they must brave the dangers ahead in a race against time to save Hyrule from evil...LinkxTetra,Rated T.
1. The Dream

**Author Notes:**

**Yes, my dear readers, I have decided to breal my number 2 law of fanfiction writing. (my #1 is keep the reader happy.) #2 is finish the story before posting it.**

**But I can't take it anymore! Ugh, I feel so bad, leaving you like this!**

**So, I will start posting DON'T KILL MEEEEEEEEE!!!!!!!!!! Okay... Er... Just enjoy, i made an extra effort to make the chapters long ^^ Hope you like it!**

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"_Hmm… This is weird… I can't feel anything… It just seems like I don't exist anymore…" Tetra thought as she looked around her. She was standing in a dark alleyway, one of the narrowest alleyways she had ever seen. The type of walls surrounding the alley proved that she had to be on Cannon Island, since it was the only island who had a building structure like that._

_It was the night, and the stars twinkled overhead. The occasional sound of the wind blowing through a leaf made a slight whistling sound, but for some reason, Tetra could not feel anything…_

"_I wonder what I'm doing here… I don't remember coming here…" she thought as she started walking through the alley._

_She walked for a while. The peaceful night air blew through the cracks in the old walls, but for some reason, did not blow through her hair. She kept in mind this intriguing detail as she kept walking._

_Suddenly, in the distance, the calm and silent air of the night got disturbed by shouting. Curious about the noise, Tetra walked closer to the source of the sounds._

_As she got closer and closer, she could make out that the shouts were also accompanied by grunts and sharp whistles through the air, as well as loud thumps… But more importantly…_

_Metal clanging against metal…_

_Tetra could recognize that sound anywhere on earth. The now-too-familiar sound of swords clashing between each other rang in her ears as she started sprinting towards the source of the sound._

_Of course, when she turned the closest corner, she saw the scene of the battle._

_Around two dozen fully grown and armed men had amassed around another, face concealed by a cloak. It seemed like they were all fighting. _

_The man in a cloak in the middle had exceptional skills at sword fighting it seemed. Around him, one by one, fell down the now-corpses of his assailants._

_But despite the man's perseverance, it seemed like he was tiring. It was evident that he didn't want to give up, but his opponents were also skilled. The remaining eight from the twenty-four cloaked men attacked with doubled intensity as the younger man in the middle backflipped to avoid their blades._

_A blade slashed across his arm, opening a gash over it. Hissing in pain, the younger man killed the one who had injured him._

"_Maybe I should help…" Tetra thought as she put her hand to her hips and drew out her scimitars. With a battle cry that no one seemed to pay attention to, the eighteen year old girl lunged into battle._

_Swinging her scimitar to sever a man's head, she gritted her teeth, but it never came. Her sword simply passed through._

_With a greater confusion than ever, she tried again. To no avail, her blade kept passing through the man's body, leaving no scratches behind. The man didn't even seem to notice the girl behind him!_

"_I understand now…" she thought as her Triforce glowed, clearing her mind a little. "I'm just a visitor… This is a dream… I cannot affect my surroundings, nor they can affect me…" she spoke, knowing that no one could hear her._

_Simply sighing as she sheathed her trusty scimitars, she kept watching the battle intently._

_Now, it was more and more evident that the young man was losing. He had killed two more of the men assailing him, but even the most ignorant fool in Hyrule could have noticed that the boy was weakening. The enemy was just waiting for the right moment to strike…_

_The boy's cloak was completely soaked in blood, whether his' or the enemy's, Tetra couldn't tell because of the darkness of the night and the invisibility of the young man's wounds through his dark green cloak. Though she guessed that most of it was probably his', since the enemy bore visible marks of wounds, yet not all that big._

_And as expected, it wasn't long until an enemy got the right opportunity to strike._

_Dodging under the boy's incoming sword, the man thrusted his weapon into the boy's stomach._

_The boy's eyes widened as he opened his mouth to gasp desperately for the air that was escaping him. Dropping his sword, the boy fell to his knees, still gazing into thin air with his horrified expression. His wound was now soaking his entire front in red, making him a little more visible in the night._

_Tetra gasped as she broke into a run for the circle of men who were now amassed around the dying boy. Passing right through the men, she gasped once more when she realized that the boy had closed his eyes._

_His hood fell over, revealing his charming face. The moonlight shone over the young man's now-serene face, revealing his physical features._

_Long blond hair sticking to his forehead because of the sweat and blood, red liquids running down the side of his open mouth, searching desperately for air, coughing up the blood clogging his air pipes. His eyelids were closed, and his breathing became panting, then desperate gasps. Only when he opened his azure eyes one last time…_

"_Link…!" Tetra breathed as the Hero closed his eyes and she disappeared in a deep, engulfing darkness, leaving Link, the enemies, the battle and her serenity behind…_

---

Tetra woke up with a gasp and shot up. She was panting for breath and was sweating profusely, as if she had run a mile or two. Pulling her sheets up to her face, she shuddered, then put them down, looking around.

She was back into her and Link's cabin, aboard the Red Wolfos, their majestic pirate ship. She looked around and gazed at the familiar red walls with maps and pictographs hung on them everywhere. In the little ray of moonlight filtering through the little window at the top of the cabin, the walls seemed gloomier, seeming to compress, trying to suffocate her, to squeeze her in between them.

She whimpered as she clutched her sheets again and eyed at the retracting walls. She made herself smaller and looked at the imaginary compressing walls, getting ready to accept death.

"Tetra…?"

One voice… One pure voice that could relieve all her sorrow, all her fears, all her problems… She would do anything to hear that voice…

"Tetra?" the voice repeated.

She gasped and turned around, looking at Link, who was rubbing his eyes, seemingly tired, but worried for her.

"What're you doing so late at night?" he asked, yawning.

"I… I can't sleep…" she whispered, clutching herself tighter.

"Nightmare…?" he asked, getting closer to her despite the fact that they shared the same bed.

"Yes…" she whispered, pushing into his arms as he wrapped them protectively around her tiny body.

"You know I'll always be there for you…" he whispered through her hair, kissing it as he went.

"Thank you…" she whispered back as she closed her eyes in delight.

"You're welcome… Now just go back to sleep… We'll be sailing all day long tomorrow, so better get some rest while you can, okay? I don't think Jolene and Linebeck like the idea of working all alone while we enjoy ourselves…" he chuckled as he kissed her forehead.

"Okay… she whispered, making herself comfortable in his arms.

"I didn't say you could sleep on me though…" he chuckled as he eyes her. She seemed so tiny, so innocent in his strong, developed arms.

"Shut up and get some rest, will you…?" she mumbled sleepily as Link chuckled again and set his back against the wall. Holding Tetra against his bare chest, he too closed his eyes and sank into a deep, recovering sleep…

---

Thankfully, the rest of the night didn't bear nightmares with it as Tetra passed a good sleep. In the morning, she woke up at the same time as Link. Tetra yawned as Link finally took his arms off of her and stretched.

"Morning sunshine…" Tetra mumbled as she pushed herself off of her love and onto the mattress.

"I trust you had a comfortable sleep, your Highness…?" Link asked sarcastically as Tetra smiled, despite hating being compared to the stupid idea of her being the Princess of Hyrule. As if!

"Shut up and go get me some breakfast…" she ordered jokingly as Link chuckled and got up, wrapping his arms around her.

"Breakfast without my sunshine isn't breakfast at all, wouldn't you agree, sunshine?" he asked her as she giggled and let herself be taken in this handsome eighteen year old boy's arms. Together, they exited their cabin and ended up on the deck.

"Ah… It's such a beautiful day…" Tetra sighed as she looked up to the clear blue sky. The occasional seagulls flying over the sparkling waters of the peaceful sea cawed, then flew away, creating an atmosphere of peace and serenity.

"I love the morning, don't you…?" Link sighed as he took her up the stairs to the upper deck, where the wheel was located. He then set her down on the side rails and made sure she was holding on before letting go.

"I'll go get a table and chairs…" he said as he walked off.

Tetra smiled… It wasn't everyday you could get such a calm atmosphere with such clear skies. Completely forgetting her surroundings for a moment, she sighed and closed her eyes, breathing in a breath of fresh salty sea air.

And it was then that she realized she was falling over the side rails.

She squeaked as she realized it was too late to get back up and expected to fall in when she felt strong arms wrapping protectively around her and bringing her back up.

"Remind me to never let you sit on the side rails when you're not completely awake yet." Link chuckled as he slung Tetra over his shoulder and kept walking.

"Shut up and put me down." Tetra demanded as Link chuckled as stopped. In a swift movement, he took Tetra in his arm, ran to the side rails and held her overboard.

"Want me to put you down? Okay." He said, letting her go.

Tetra screamed as she closed her eyes. A few seconds later, she felt her Hero's arms holding her up once more.

"It's gone, you can open you eyes now." Link laughed as Tetra opened her eyes and looked at him sceptically.

"Okay, wow! You should've seen your face! Priceless!" he laughed as Tetra got a little angry and put her hand up, slapping him across the face.

"What the hell?" he stopped laughing.

"That was for trying to make me fall in Skull Fish infested waters!" she crossed her arms as Link started laughing again.

"No way. There are no Skull Fishes here…" he laughed as Tetra rolled her eyes.

"Yeah, well, what if there were, hunh?" she asked him

"In that case, I never would've dropped you." He said as he applied his lips to hers'.

"Oh, come here, you…" she mumbled as she put her arms around his neck and returned his kiss.

"Good morning lovebird…"

Link put Tetra down on the wooden deck as they turned around to see Linebeck and Jolene walking out of their cabin.

"Morning, my fellow crewmates." Link saluted them with a wry grin as Tetra punched him.

"I think we'll have to throw him to the Skull Fishes." She stuck her tongue out at him.

"SWEET! CAN I DO IT?" Jolene asked enthusiastically as the entire group started laughing.

"No!" Link sarcastically objected as he started running away from Jolene who removed her scimitar and ran after him, twirling it menacingly in the air.

"Tsk tsk tsk… Kids…" Tetra mumbled as Linebeck chuckled.

"You could say so…" he mumbled amusedly.

"Breakfast?" she proposed as Linebeck nodded. In the background, you could hear Link objecting over Jolene's actions as Jolene simply laughed while running after him.

"Uh… Definitely…" he smiled as they left the two childish adults to their games and went inside.

---

A few seconds later though, the door opened as Link came in.

"Hey! You're not eating with us outside?" he asked as he ducked right when Jolene's scimitar came flying right where his head was.

"THAT'S DIRTY PLAY, JOLENE!" he yelled as the scimitar embedded itself in the wooden walls of the cabin.

"Err…" Tetra hesitated, but seeing the enthusiasm with which Link was playing, she shrugged and got up. "Whatever. A little fun never hurt anyone…" she said as stepped out, ducking another scimitar thrown by Jolene.

"Eh… I'm not the loner around here…" Linebeck also agreed, stepping out and closing the door, receiving a scimitar planted in the wood right next to his face.

"Jolene!" the entire crew protested as she fell to the ground, laughing.

"Ok ok I give up! This is too funny!" the twenty-eight year old woman laughed as she held her sides as she crumpled to the ground.

"Hey! But the fun had just started!" Link objected with a wry grin as he took out one of Jolene's scimitars from the mast and set it on the ground.

"Yeah, if you call getting your leg almost cut off fun…" Tetra mumbled, amused as she drew the scimitar from out of her shorts.

"YES! YOU SHOULD'VE SEEN YOUR FACES!" she kept laughing as Linebeck got down and helped her up.

"Uh hunh… Now let's calm down and have breakfast, shall we…?" the twenty-nine year old man proposed as Tetra nodded and followed him to the top deck where they usually took their breakfast.

"Party pooper…" Jolene mumbled as she got off and started walking up. A scimitar through the air cut her off as it pinned her on the mast through her clothes.

"I'm not…" Link grinned as he congratulated himself over his great aim.

"I can't help but wonder how a man could be such fun-loving!"Jolene said.

"And I never thought as woman could be anything else than stuck up and spoiled." He replied with a sarcastic grin as Jolene mumbled something in amusement and threw a weapon at Link.

Link saw the glistering object coming straight for his face, and he dodged it with no problems at all.

"HAH! MISSED ME!" he stuck a tongue out at her as she yawned and waited.

"Not really…" she mumbled as her weapon came back, flying through the air again. Link turned only his head around and saw what her weapon was.

But before he could say anything else, the flying weapon impacted with his rear.

"Jolene! THIS STUPID INSTRUMENT OF YOUR IS PERVERTED!" he said as he grabbed the boomerang off of the ground and headed for Jolene who was sprawled over the floor, having one of her crazy laughing fits.

"Here. Here's you pervert weapon back." He grinned amusedly as she kept laughing and motioned for him to put it down next to her. He shrugged and set it down next to her, walking away towards the upper deck. Jolene soon joined him, though she kept laughing like a madman, even crying of laughter.

"What happened now?" Tetra asked as she saw Link helping Jolene walk straight as she kept crying of laughter.

"Tet…Tetra…" she laughed as she made a great effort to look up at her. "You're_. AHAHAHA_! You're not the only one _HA! HAHA! _To be interested _AAHAHAAA!_ In Link's sexy ass!" she fell on the floor again, pounding her fist on the wooden deck as she couldn't stop crying.

"JOLENE!" the entire boat resonated over the sound of the three other crewmembers objecting over her joke, even though Link couldn't help but chuckle at his joke. Tetra was just shocked. Linebeck was as impassable as always.

"Okay, okay… I think it's time to calm down a little…" Link said as he got her off of the floor and put her down on the chair as she kept pounding her fist on the table too, burying her head in her other arm that she crossed over the wooden table.

"Okay… Okay okay okay.. Gotta calm _HICCUP_!" and there goes Jolene's vow to stop laughing. The simple fact that she had started hiccupping had thrown her into an even greater laugh.

"Oh Goddesses…" Link mumbled as he brought a plate of bread and butter and put in in the middle so that everyone could serve themselves.

"Jolene, enough!" Linebeck said as Jolene stopped laughing and reduced it to a giggle and she held her breath. After seven seconds, she let it go, and took it immediately after again. Then, she let it out an continued a few times like this until her hiccups has stopped.

"Okay, now I'm done for good…" she breathed in as she closed her eyes and made a yoga movement with her hands.

"Okay, I'm good…" she repeated as she opened her eyes and looked around. She wasn't laughing anymore.

"Well, enjoy your breakfast guys!" she said as she grabbed a bread roll, acting as if they had just sat down. In reality, they had been there for more than fifteen minutes now.

"Err… Okay…" Linebeck replied as they all silently sat down and ate their breakfast.

"So now where are we going to?" Tetra asked them over a roll.

"I don't know… We estimated that out next adventure was just around the corner, so I'm sure we'll find something soon…" Linebeck shrugged as Tetra suddenly remembered last night's dream.

"Uh… yeah… Okay…" she replied uneasily, stuffing some bread in her mouth to conceal her uneasiness.

Link vaguely felt it, but paid it no mind. She would just get over it, he was sure of it. He simply shrugged and ate another roll.

"All done?" Tetra asked when they finished.

"Yeah." Jolene replied, stretching backwards.

"Okay…" she replied, getting up, grabbing the plate and heading down to the kitchen cabin.

---

"You okay?"

Tetra turned her head around to see who it was. Link opened the door further and came in, closing it after him.

"You okay?" he repeated as Tetra turned back to cleaning the plate with water and soap.

"Yeah… Why…?" she replied uneasily, expertly concealing it.

"You seem… Stressed… Even since we left Molida Island three days ago… What's wrong…? Don't you like the idea that we're going on another adventure?" he asked, wrapping his arms around her waist and putting his chin on her shoulder.

"Yes… It's just that… Never mind…" she sighed amusedly, concealing her worry under her cute little smile.

"Well, I can see that everything's not okay, but just tell me if there' anything I can do." He said, kissing her cheek before turning around and leaving.

As soon as the door shut behind him, Tetra sighed.

"Link, everything is less than okay… I don't know if my dreams are real, or just nightmares… I want to believe that they're the latter, but I can't… Something tells me we're in for much more than we bargained for…" she sighed as she put the plate on the drying shelves, drained the sink and walked outside onto the deck, where Jolene was sunbathing and Link and Linebeck were sparring.

---

"Is that the best you got? Come on! Bring it!" Linebeck encouraged the young Hero as they sparred against each other on the deck while Jolene simply kicked back, relaxed and enjoyed the sun.

"Hey…" Tetra greeted as Jolene opened one of her eyes and smiled.

"Hey. Try sunbathing with me…" she proposed as Tetra smiled and lay next to her.

"As if you weren't already tanned enough…" she told her with a grin.

Indeed, the twenty-eight year old woman wore puffy desert pants in a shade of red and pink with a jewel in the front. She wore a top with no sleeves that only covered her breasts and part of her stomach. The other part and her belly button were visible. And, it was evident that she liked sunbathing since from head to toes, she was as dark as a desert Gerudo herself.

"It makes you feel hot." She smiled at her own joke.

"Haha…" Tetra pretended to laugh as she closed her eyes.

"Hey! I mean, come on! Look at you! You're barely even tanned at all, white-face!" Jolene said as Tetra looked at herself. Yup, Jolene was right.

Preferring to keep closed, she wore knee-length short and a ragged purple shirt that showed only the lower part of her stomach, over the belly button. A red cloth was tied strongly to her waist, used like a belt to keep her scimitars in.

She also wore a white sleeveless jacket with a red stripe at the level of the armpits, which kinda looked like the old one she used to provide Link with emergency bandages a few days ago. Her long golden hair was tied up in a ponytail and she still wore her red shawl over her neck. Her barely tanned skin was just enough to make her stand out on a sunny day. If not, she would have mixed in with the background.

"Okay, okay…" she mumbled as she pulled her red shawl over her face and relaxed.

Not that it was possible with the two boys' swords clanging right next to them.

"CAN YOU GUYS TAKE THAT SOMEWHERE ELSE? WERE TRYING TO TAKE A TAN HERE!" Jolene yelled as the two boys momentarily stopped and headed for them.

"Yeah, as if, miss Princess!" Linebeck grinned at her.

"Hey. I'm the only Princess around here." Tetra waved her finger dismissingly without even moving her head or removing her shawl from her face.

"I'm amazed you actually mentioned it, Tet." Link grinned as he pulled her shawl off of her face and took her into his arms.

"Hey! Let me down you big Moblin!" she giggled as Link put her down and faked being hurt.

"Do you really think I look like those pigs…?" he faked crying as Tetra laughed, rolled her eyes and threw her arms around his neck.

"Yeah, maybe…" she giggled as she kissed him.

He simply smiled again.

"Then I'm proud to announce that the Princess of Hyrule has chosen to love an oversized, pea- brained boar!" he chuckled as Tetra hit him over the cheeks gently and kissed him again.

"Yeah, but that's my choice!" she giggled as they both laughed and kept kissing.

"I'm taking a break!" Link said as he got away from Linebeck, motioning at Tetra to follow.

"Me too!" she said as she ran off behind him.

"YOU WEREN'T EVEN DOING ANY PHYSICAL ACTIVITY IN THE FIRST PLACE!" Linebeck protested, but Jolene simply swung her arms around his neck and pulled herself closer.

"You need to loosen up, Linebeck-poo." She giggled as she drew him into a kiss.

---

"That one looks like a cucoo!" Link said, pointing at a particular cloud.

"And that one looks like the Triforce…" Tetra grinned, pointing at three clouds amassed together.

"Yeah, you're right!" Link noticed as he smiled.

They were lying on their backs on the top deck, watching the clouds stroll by as they sailed towards Cannon Island. By Jolene's estimation, they should get there by tomorrow morning. Link could already see the giant Salvage Arm that hung decoratively over the island.

"Ooh! And that one looks like Ganondorf!" she noticed with a gasp as she pointed at a cloud with a vague human structure.

"Where? I don't see a cloud looking like a pig anywhere…" Link pretended to search the skies as Tetra started laughing, rolling closer to him. He simply opened his arms and closed it over her when she got close enough.

"I love you, you know that…?" he asked her.

"Of course, you big dufus…" she replied as he chuckled. They both kept watching the skies serenely, still trying to spot clouds that resembled some things, while behind them, Linebeck was pulling Jolene's hair and Jolene was pulling Linebeck's shirt, and the two doubled over on each other, laughing as if they were ten again.

---

The rest of the day passed pretty quickly. Nothing important happened, except Linebeck made the big mistake of throwing Jolene overboard, and when she came back up using a rope Link threw at her, she grabbed a cannon, aimed it at Linebeck and fired. Linebeck thankfully avoided it, but the cannonball slammed into a passing seagull and roasted it.

The entire crew stood in an awkward silence for a second, then they all burst out in tears of laughter.

Soon, the night took control of the sky and the clouds disappeared, giving a clear view on the full moon tonight. The stars appeared next to it, twinkling brightly overhead. The sun slowly sank in the horizon, leaving nothing behind. Darkness soon engulfed the land.

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**Author Notes:**

**And that was chapter 1 ! Big shocker, jolene and Linebeck are 28-29 yeards old O.O So that would make them 18-19 in He's a Pirate ^^ I just thought of that right now XD **

**Now, unlike the way I submitted Past, Present, Future, this isn't gonna be one chapter a day, since I didn't write past chapter 5 anyways XD So... yeah... just bear with me, iwill update once in a while, say... once every two days? I don't know... Anyways, hoep you'll keep reading, hoep you're not TOO mad at me... (CHEER UP! I made this chapter super extra long for me. It was 4 238 words O.O!) and all the other chapters are as long as this one... So... yeah... ^^;. Well, wish me luck!**

**Reviews are very very appreciated and will motivate me to write faster.**

**Seriously.**

**I don't feel like writing right now, so you'd better review to encourage me.**

**XD THANKS FOR READING GUYS!**


	2. Disappear

**Author Notes:**

**Well, if you bother reading the dream part again, then you'll realize that Tetra's speeches have also changed. You can either read or skip to the newest part of the dream. I'd read, but it's because it's my own story, and because I'm a total Zelda addict, but whatever you like is okay XD ^^**

**And so... Chapter 2... Pretty long again, 5 154 words (including Author Notes) ^^ I think I'm getting better with chapter lenghts ^^ And anyways, enough blablabla, on with the story ^^**

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"_Hmm… This is weird… I can't feel anything… It just seems like I don't exist anymore…Oh… It's here again…" Tetra thought as she looked around her. She was standing in a dark alleyway, one of the narrowest alleyways she had ever seen. The type of walls surrounding the alley proved that she had to be on Cannon Island, since it was the only island that had a building structure like that._

_It was the night, and the stars twinkled overhead. The occasional sound of the wind blowing through a leaf made a slight whistling sound, but for some reason, Tetra could not feel anything…_

"_Hey… I came here last night, in my last dream…" she thought as she started walking through the alley._

_She walked for a while. The peaceful night air blew through the cracks in the old walls, but for some reason, did not blow through her hair. She kept in mind this intriguing detail as she kept walking._

_Suddenly, in the distance, the calm and silent air of the night got disturbed by shouting. Curious about the noise, Tetra walked closer to the source of the sounds._

_As she got closer and closer, she could make out that the shouts were also accompanied by grunts and sharp whistles through the air, as well as loud thumps… But more importantly…_

_Metal clanging against metal…_

_Tetra could recognize that sound anywhere on earth. The now-too-familiar sound of swords clashing between each other rang in her ears as she started sprinting towards the source of the sound._

_Of course, when she turned the closest corner, she saw the scene of the battle._

_Around two dozen fully grown and armed men had amassed around another, face concealed by a cloak. It seemed like they were all fighting. _

_The man in a cloak in the middle had exceptional skills at sword fighting it seemed. Around him, one by one, fell down the now-corpses of his assailants._

_But despite the man's perseverance, it seemed like he was tiring. It was evident that he didn't want to give up, but his opponents were also skilled. The remaining eight from the twenty-four cloaked men attacked with doubled intensity as the younger man in the middle backflipped to avoid their blades._

_A blade slashed across his arm, opening a gash over it. Hissing in pain, the younger man killed the one who had injured him._

"_Maybe I should help…" Tetra thought as she put her hand to her hips and drew out her scimitars. With a battle cry that no one seemed to pay attention to, the eighteen year old girl lunged into battle._

_Swinging her scimitar to sever a man's head, she gritted her teeth, but it never came. Her sword simply passed through._

_With a greater confusion than ever, she tried again. To no avail, her blade kept passing through the man's body, leaving no scratches behind. The man didn't even seem to notice the girl behind him!_

"_I remember now…" she thought as her Triforce glowed, clearing her mind a little. "That's right… I'm just a visitor… This is a dream… I cannot affect my surroundings, nor they can affect me…" she spoke, knowing that no one could hear her._

_Simply sighing as she sheathed her trusty scimitars, she kept watching the battle intently._

_Now, it was more and more evident that the young man was losing. He had killed two more of the men assailing him, but even the most ignorant fool in Hyrule could have noticed that the boy was weakening. The enemy was just waiting for the right moment to strike…_

_The boy's cloak was completely soaked in blood, whether his' or the enemy's, Tetra couldn't tell because of the darkness of the night and the invisibility of the young man's wounds through his dark green cloak. Though she guessed that most of it was probably his', since the enemy bore visible marks of wounds, yet not all that big._

_And as expected, it wasn't long until an enemy got the right opportunity to strike._

_Dodging under the boy's incoming sword, the man thrusted his weapon into the boy's stomach._

_The boy's eyes widened as he opened his mouth to gasp desperately for the air that was escaping him. Dropping his sword, the boy fell to his knees, still gazing into thin air with his horrified expression. His wound was now soaking his entire front in red, making him a little more visible in the night._

_Tetra gasped as she broke into a run for the circle of men who were now amassed around the dying boy. Passing right through the men, she gasped once more when she realized that the boy had closed his eyes._

_His hood fell over, revealing his charming face. The moonlight shone over the young man's now-serene face, revealing his physical features._

"_Not again…!" Tetra thought as she scanned the boy's face._

_Long blond hair sticking to his forehead because of the sweat and blood, red liquids running down the side of his open mouth, searching desperately for air, coughing up the blood clogging his air pipes. His eyelids were closed, and his breathing became panting, then desperate gasps. Only when he opened his azure eyes one last time…_

"_Link…!" Tetra breathed as the Hero closed his eyes. Expecting to disappear, she realized she was still there._

"_Does the dream want to show me more?" she asked herself as she kept watching, as she couldn't do anything about it since she was only a spectator._

"_Oh Link… Please get up…" she whispered as fell to her knee, tears swarming up to her eyes._

"_He's disabled. Tie him and take him to the ship. We have to set sail right now…" one of the caped assailants said as the three others bent down and tied Link's wrists and ankles, then gagged him with a white cloth that a man sprayed with what Tetra deduced to be drugs since a lot of them closed their noses as he did so._

_With a grunt, the sturdiest man picked Link up and slung him over his shoulder as if he was a mere parcel. Then, with another silent nod, the group disappeared in the night through the other alley leading away._

"_LINK! NO! WHERE ARE THEY GOING? WHERE ARE THEY TAKING HIM? WHO ARE THEY? WHAT DO THEY WANT WITH HIM?" she bit her nails as she got up and started running after the men who had now disappeared in the growing darkness._

_Following them to the secondary dock, the one located on a hidden part of town, she watched worriedly as the men called to the people on the deck. There was a shout in reply, and then a wooden plank came down from the ship. Walking on it, the five remaining men climbed aboard and removed the plank._

_Tetra hurriedly ran to the end of the dock, and arrived right in time to see the men pulling their anchors off. She took a step forward again, but quickly drew back as something poked her bare foot._

_Bending down, she grabbed the little glistering object on the ground and brought it up to the moonlight to see it._

"_One of Link's earrings…" she thought as she eyed the metal blue loop that Link usually wore on his ear._

_Another loud call echoed through the silent night air and Tetra looked up. It was then that she realized that the boat was slowly sailing away… Her vision started to sway as her view darkened. The certain details around her vanished as only the ship carrying Link aboard it remained, and then it too disappeared._

"_No! Don't cut me off! I have to see what's gonna happen! I have to find out what's going on! LINK!" she screamed as her vision clouded up and she fell into the eternal pit of darkness…_

_---_

"Tetra…?"

"LINK! NO!" Tetra shot up with a gasp as she stood in her sitting position and kept panting.

"Tet… What's wrong?" Link asked as he grabbed her and dragged her onto his lap.

"Link… I…"

"It's been two days now… What's going on…?" Link asked as Tetra buried her face in chest and started crying.

"Link… I… I can't just… Those dreams…" she cried, gripping his arms so strong, he was sure she could rip a piece of flesh off if she pulled.

"Tell me… everything… clouding your mind…" he whispered in her hair, caressing her tear stained cheeks as he went.

"But Link… I'm so worried…" she sobbed as she closed her eyes for a second.

"It's better to tell me then…" he encouraged her.

"But… I… I don't want you… to be worried too…" she cried as she looked at his face, almost invisible in the darkness.

"I'd rather bear a burden with you than let you bear it all alone. Now just tell me, okay?" he told her, smiling.

"Well, the thing is… That… I've been having these dreams…" she started, pausing soon after.

"Yeah..?" he urged her to continue.

"And… Well… It takes place in a dark alley… probably on Cannon Island by judging the buildings… And the moon was high up…"

"Get to the point…" Link said, noticing that she didn't want to tell him.

"OKAY FINE!" she blurted out, crashing against his torso.

"THERE WERE SOME THUGS WHO ATTACKED YOU, THEN IMPALED YOU ON A SWORD, THEN TIED YOU UP, KIDNAPPED YOU, THEN TOOK YOU ABOARD A SHIP AND SAILED AWAY!!!" she cried as she sobbed her heart out.

"Is that it…?" he asked her, not as worried as she was. After all, it was only a dream.

"YEAH! DON'T SAY IT LIKE IT'S NOTHING!" she kept yelling at him.

"Shush… keep it down, you'll wake up Jolene and Linebeck…" Link put a finger to her lips.

"But it's no little deal…" she still cried, though keeping her volume down.

"It's just a dream… Don't worry about it…" Link comforted her.

"Link! Why don't you get it! It's obviously NOT a dream since I've been having it continuously, and it takes place in a very possible situation! It's obviously premonitory!" she yelled at him as Link put another finger to her lips.

"SHUSH! YOU'LL WAKE UP THE ENTIRE WORLD AT THIS RATE!" he hissed, then let her go.

"But Link…" her eyes swelled up again, and she let loose a couple more tears, then gently set her head on his chest to listen to the comforting beating of his heart against her ears.

"What's premonito-whatever it is, anyways?" he asked her.

"It means it's a seeing of the future. A premonitory dream is a dream that predicts what will happen in the near future." It wasn't Tetra's voice who answered.

Stepping out of the shadows, Jolene stepped into the couple's view, dragging a half-asleep Linebeck behind her.

"Good job Tetra. You woke them up…" Link sighed.

"Too late…." Linebeck mumbled as Jolene dragged him on the couple's bed and made him sit down before he fell on the ground.

"Okay. Now tell me what the hell is going on…?" Jolene pressed her.

"But… Those dreams… Do they mean anything…?" Tetra questioned herself more than anyone else.

"She says that she saw a couple dozen thugs assailing me, then impaling me…" he explained, seeing that she wouldn't talk yet. "And… that would feel so déjà vu anyways…" he smiled as he continued. "Anyways, they then tied me up and took me aboard a ship, and kidnapped me." He explained, shrugging.

"Aw, Honey, you're simply concerned about Link with his current state of recovery from that last impaling, and you have dreams about him using the details that already exist in your life…" Jolene said as she briefly caressed her former mate's hair.

"No… Why won't you believe me…? They're real… They're premonitory, I tell you!" she said as her teeth started clattering uncontrollably.

"I think she needs some rest…" Linebeck commented, then added in a lower tone. "And I do too…"

"Come on you big sissy." Jolene sighed as she grabbed Linebeck and dragged him out.

"Get her some sleep. I'm sure she'll have forgotten it by tomorrow morning." Jolene said as Linebeck poked his head back in.

"If it isn't today already…" he mumbled as Jolene sighed and pushed him out, soon closing the door after them.

"Tet… Just calm down, and lay you head down somewhere…" he whispered to her as she shuddered, gripping his arms stronger.

"No… No… Don't let go…" she mumbled sleepily as Link smiled and pushed her off, taking her in his arms and putting her down.

She didn't even object as Link kissed her right temple and pulled the covers up to her neck, trying to ignore the disturbing, blank, frozen stare she was giving to the nothingness in front of her eyes.

"Night Tetra…" he whispered as she mumbled something about 'be careful, Link', then she closed her eyes, and immediately fell asleep.

"That was weird…" Link mumbled as he laid down close to her, and soon followed her in her deep sleep.

---

"Link…"

"Morning Tet."

Tetra grumbled as she opened her eyes and pushed the covers off of her. Rubbing her eyes tiredly, she brought herself to a sitting position and looked around. She was back in her cabin, sitting comfortably on her bed. Link was sitting next to her.

"Morning…" she wished him as he smiled and drew her into a good morning kiss.

"Wow. You should've seen yourself yesterday, deep in the night…" he suddenly said.

"Link! I wasn't kidding! We're… YOU'RE in danger!" she said as she shot up and her knees and grabbed his arms so that he would look at her.

"Loosen the grip. You already hurt me more than enough yesterday night." He rolled his eyes as Tetra loosened her grip and looked at his arms.

All over his reddened arms, little indents and cuts were located parallel to one another.

"Oops…" she giggled as she momentarily forgot her worry and smiled.

Link also smiled. At least now she had forgotten what Linebeck had defined as 'unnecessary memory projections in nightmares'.

"Here. Let's go get some breakfast." He suggested as Tetra nodded, shot up, throwing her blankets away, and followed him outside.

Stepping outside, she breathed a breath of salty sea air before sighing of pleasure and heading to the upper deck were Jolene and Linebeck were already waiting.

"Good morning sunshine. Breakfast?" Jolene asked as she grabbed some bread and threw it at her. She caught it and put it in her mouth.

"Thanks." She answered cheerfully as she took a seat next to them.

They all watched in silence as Link closed the door to their cabin and walked up the steps.

Jolene suddenly threw a roll of bread at him, and before he knew it, it smashed into his face.

"Breakfast?" she then asked with a giggle as Link chuckled and peeled the bread off of his face and threw it back at her. Before she could stop laughing, it had gotten stuck in her hair.

"HEY! NO ONE MESSES WITH THE HAIR!" she yelled as she tried taking it off, to the infinite amusement of the rest.

By the time she had gotten it out, Link was already sitting across from her and eating his breakfast silently.

"So… What's the plan for today…?" Tetra asked.

"We will dock at Cannon after breakfast, then spend the day on land, maybe poke around and find out some things maybe. Then, we'll sleep on the ship, and spend another day in town. So, after tomorrow, at night, we will set sail east to find some thrills." Linebeck told her as he nodded.

"Sounds good to me." She said as Link also agreed.

"Me too." He shrugged as he ducked under the flying bread Jolene threw at her.

"Miss me." He stuck his tongue out at her as another slice flew right into his eyes. Falling down and cursing as he tired taking the bits out, Jolene simply laughed, then answered.

"Yeah. Pretty good." She said as she kept pointing at Link who was now mumbling a curse just the way she had taught him.

"Well, I'll take that as breakfast's over…" Tetra shrugged as she grabbed the plate of bread at the extreme disappointment of Jolene and Link who wanted to continue their little food fight over each other, and she headed down the steps to the kitchen.

Opening the door with her foot, she stored the remaining bread in a container and put the plate in a sink full of water.

And, as usual, Link joined her soon after.

"Hey Tet." He called her as he set his chin on her shoulder.

"Why do you keep calling me Tet?" she giggled as she scrubbed some stains off of the plate.

"Because I find it catchy…" he replied with a playful grin.

"It makes me sound like some kind of doll, or something…" she told him.

"Haha… Tet. Tet. Tet Tet Tet Tet Tet Tet Tet!" he chuckled mischievously as Tetra rolled her eyes and splashed some dirty water on his face.

"Shut up, you annoying Moblin." She giggled as Link drew back and tried getting the water off of his face.

"Seems like people love throwing things in my face today…" he mumbled as Tetra chuckled.

"Yeah, well, you're great target practice." She giggled as he grinned and caught her by the hips, twirling her around the room.

Both young adults laughed like ten year olds, then Link lost is balance and they both fell, Tetra landing on top of Link in a sitting position.

"I win again." she smiled playfully as he rolled his eyes.

"It's because I still haven't recovered from my sword barbecue attempt on my stomach." He said, motioning at the light bandages covering his stomach.

"And I don't know why I let you walk freely like that. You should be in bed." Tetra looked sceptically at him.

"Yeah, okay. It's because you're not like all other overprotective girlfriends." Link laughed as Jolene poked through the door.

"WHAT DOES THAT MAKE ME? OVERPROTECTIVE?" she asked him as Linebeck pulled her back outside.

"Sorry 'bout that…" he grinned as Link rolled his eyes.

"Okay, lemme rephrase that. You and Jolene are not like all the other overprotective girlfriends of the world." He laughed as Tetra giggled and got off of him to let him get up. As soon as he did, he dusted himself off and stepped outside.

"Yeah, we were just gonna tell you we arrived at Cannon." Linebeck shrugged as Link eyed the majestic Salvage Arm at the side of the elevated island and the village at its foot.

"Ugh, finally…" he commented as they grabbed their hookshots and shot them at the post on the shore.

Flying through the air, they ended up on dry land for the first time since they left Molida about four or five days ago.

"Well, have fun." Link wished them as he and Tetra headed in a different direction than Jolene and Linebeck.

---

Entering the crowded tavern, Link closed the door after Tetra and they went and sat down on the bar. The barkeeper soon got to them with a smile.

"AH! LOOKIE HERE! It's our favourite little pirate couple!" the barkeeper said as the entire tavern shut up for a moment, then cheered for them, returning tot heir own business afterwards.

"How can I help you guys…?" he asked as he leaned over the counter.

"One ale for Tet and one beer for me." Link answered with a wry grin towards Tetra as she slapped her forehead in annoyance. At least she wouldn't have to drag him back to his room…

"Coming right up!" the barkeeper smiled as he headed away and grabbed two mugs.

Link and Tetra simply kept silent as the barkeeper filled their mugs and brought them back to them, putting each drink respectively in front of the two teens.

"Fifteen rupees please." He said as Link took out a blue and a yellow rupee and gave them to the man.

"Thank you…" he man said with a smile as he went away and put the rupees in the cash machine.

"HEY BARKEEP!" Link yelled as the barkeeper returned to them.

"Yeah…?" he asked, grabbing a mug and wiping the inside with a towel.

"Any news worthy of hearing?" Link asked as he sipped some beer.

"Actually, yeah!" the barkeeper answered, looking pensive.

Ah, barkeepers… Endless fountains of overseas knowledge…

"So?" Link asked as the barkeeper leaned down to get his voice over the noise of the tavern.

"Well, lately, there have been five mighty fine young ladies who have been disappearing from all over the country. It's funny though. They have no link whatsoever with each other, except for the fact that all of them are the daughters of island mayors. It's a good thing this island's mayor's daughter wasn't kidnapped yet." The barkeeper revealed.

"Really? Where do the girls come from?" Tetra asked him.

"Well, one of them was Molida's mayor's daughter, the other was Mercay's, the other's was Spirit Island's… and so on…" the barkeeper shrugged.

"You thinking what I'm thinking?" Link asked her.

"Definitely." She replied with a grin as she leaned to the barkeeper. "There must have been some LOST posters. Do you have any of them?" she asked him.

"Yeah, actually, I do. Lemme just find them…" he mumbled, opening a drawer. He took out a bunch of brownish posters and started throwing away the ones he didn't need.

Link and Tetra chuckled when they spotted their own wanted posters, plus Jolene's and Linebeck's, and then, they simply waited until the barkeeper had taken out five posters, it seemed whiter than the rest.

"Here you go. Don't know why you want them, but have fun. If you're gonna doodle on their faces, I always got some pencils at the back of the tavern." The barkeeper shrugged as he put his extra posters away and headed towards another customer.

"Hmm.." Link sighed as he grabbed the posters and looked at them, comparing the pictures.

All the girls had the same age, same social rank, same height, same posture and they all had a common glint in their eyes, but as far as anyone knew, they weren't related.

Only their hair was VERY different from one another. One's hair was long and blond, tied over her neck in a ponytail. The other's hair was green and short, reaching her neck. Another's hair was orangish yellow tied up in a ponytail. Another's hair was violet, with deep purple highlights, reaching the girl's shoulders. And the last one had extremely long blue hair that went down in waves until the end of her back. Their eyes corresponded to the colour of their hair.

"Awkward…" Tetra mumbled as she also noticed those differences and resemblances.

"Yeah. Let's get out of here. It's too noisy. We'll go study these at the public library." Link said as he took out a yellow rupee, set it on the table as a tip, drank his last swig of beer and left, soon followed by Tetra.

"You didn't get drunk." It was more of an affirmation that a question that Tetra asked when she saw that Link was walking straight.

"Yeah. I'm getting better. All those practise mugs that Linebeck gave me when you guys were sleepi…Err… Forget it…" he blushed as he rubbed the back of his head, knowing that even if he had stopped, Tetra had guessed the rest.

"You know that it's bad for you, right?" she asked him.

"Yes mother, but I like it nonetheless." He replied proudly as they opened the door to the library and stepped in.

---

"So…How was your day…?" Jolene asked them as Link and Tetra hookshot onto the ship.

"Fine, not bad, Link got drunk again." Tetra mumbled, looking at Link who was walking slightly diagonally. Indeed, it seemed like the effects of alcohol on the poor boy had kicked in later on.

"DON'T LOOK AT ME!" Linebeck yelled as he swung down from a rope. "I didn't make him!" he defended himself.

"Yeah, but it was your idea to give him beer while we slept during the night." Tetra sceptically looked at him.

"Heh… Err… Well… The kid's turning into an adult! He has to know how to drink! Okay, I'll show you tomorrow night, okay? Right before we leave." He said with a sly grin.

"Oh Goddesses… I don't know if I wanna learn…" Tetra slapped her forehead as Link hiccupped.

"Um… I'll get him to sit down before he falls over." Tetra said as Link lost his footing and fell on the hard wooden deck.

"Too late!" Jolene laughed, pointing at Link.

"Dammit, you little bastard! Stop laughing! I will _HIC_ kick your _HIC_ ass!" Link yelled, shaking his fist in the air, then lost it and fell back down, falling into a shallow sleep.

"Did he call me a bastard?" Jolene asked.

"Umm… It's the effect of alcohol toying with his brain nerves…" Linebeck protected the eighteen year old boy, knowing how angry Jolene could get over pointless things.

"It'd better be…" she mumbled as Tetra laughed and pulled Link up, then, with a little help from Linebeck, she carried him inside and on their bed.

"Well then, I think it's deep enough in the night. Have a good night guys." Linebeck wished as he headed out. Jolene came in right after he left.

"Yeah, what he said. Good night. Don't let my drunk Link over there bite." She giggled mischievously as Tetra blushed, but quickly brushed her thoughts away.

"Shut up and get to bed." She waved her off as she laughed.

"Aye aye captain." She sarcastically saluted her as she turned around and left, plunging the entire room in pitch black.

"Uh hunh…." Tetra mumbled as she pulled Link's covers up, then laid next to him, setting her head comfortably on his chest to listen to his heart beating, and, closing her eyes, she got rocked to sleep, listening to Link's steady breathing and heart thumping against his ribcage.

**********************

**Author Notes:**

**And the second chapter, all thanks to shadows-of-ballance who reviewed ^^ PEOPLE! TAKE HIS EXAMPLE AND REVIEEEEW! PLEEEEEEASE! And... yeah...**

**Anyways... I think you can already feel that the tranquility in this chapter won't last long anymore... XD I ruined it for you, didn't I...? And just for notes, the next chapter will be out on tuesday. Sorry for the inconvenience, but I need time to type the 5th chapter, and I'm trying to go regularily so that I wo't make you wait forever ^^; And... yeah... That's about it, I guess... Well, seeya on Tuesday, people! ^^ **

**PLEASE DON'T FORGET TO REVIEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!**


	3. Zone out

**Author Notes:**

**_DO NOT OWN LOZ!_**

**To all the people who enjoy seeing people in mental suffering, you should've seen me Monday, after school. I was sucking my thumb and biting my fingers to avoid uploading this chapter XD I had to keep it for today, if not, I would've been completely out of my schedule. Plus, with upcoming Christmas exams, I won't have much time to type, so gotta buy me some time XD. But, no worries, dear readers, I have a loose schedule after Friday, when my exams will end, and winter vacation will start ^^ I CAN'T WAIT! :D Free typing as much as I want all day long! ^^**

**And my sister has school on Monday, so I'll be able to type in peace. So, new chapters will be coming soon ^^ Anyways, enough about me, back to the story.**

**Ah, I can feel that you're sighing and rolling your eyes as you see the italicized part XD. Don't worry. Tetra's speeches have changed again, but if you want, skip a little until where we left off last time ^^**

**Oh, and this is the last time we'll be seeing this dream, just to warn you.**

**Or ruin it for you...**

**XD Sorry for ruining it ^^**

**Just before starting, I'll answer a question for Principessa Dell'Opera, pardon me for any spelling mistakes XD**

**Anyways, well, the world is Phantom Hourglass, but heavy references to Wind Waker, Ocarina of Time and Link to the Past are going to be seen. Hope you don't mind the mixup and will keep reading ^^**

**And so, enough with the incessant blabbering, ON WITH THE STORY :D!!!!!!!!!!!!**

******************************

"_Humm… It's my dream again…" Tetra thought as she looked around her. She was standing in a dark alleyway, one of the narrowest alleyways she had ever seen. The type of walls surrounding the alley proved that she had to be on Cannon Island, since it was the only island that had a building structure like that._

_It was the night, and the stars twinkled overhead. The occasional sound of the wind blowing through a leaf made a slight whistling sound, but for some reason, Tetra could not feel anything…_

"_Hey… This is exactly what happened last time…" she thought as she started walking through the alley._

_She walked for a while. The peaceful night air blew through the cracks in the old walls, but for some reason, did not blow through her hair. She kept in mind this intriguing detail as she kept walking._

_Suddenly, in the distance, the calm and silent air of the night got disturbed by shouting. Curious about the noise, Tetra walked closer to the source of the sounds._

_As she got closer and closer, she could make out that the shouts were also accompanied by grunts and sharp whistles through the air, as well as loud thumps… But more importantly…_

_Metal clanging against metal…_

_Tetra could recognize that sound anywhere on earth. The now-too-familiar sound of swords clashing between each other rang in her ears as she started sprinting towards the source of the sound._

_Of course, when she turned the closest corner, she saw the scene of the battle._

_Around two dozen fully grown and armed men had amassed around another, face concealed by a cloak. It seemed like they were all fighting. _

_The man in a cloak in the middle had exceptional skills at sword fighting it seemed. Around him, one by one, fell down the now-corpses of his assailants._

_But despite the man's perseverance, it seemed like he was tiring. It was evident that he didn't want to give up, but his opponents were also skilled. The remaining eight from the twenty-four cloaked men attacked with doubled intensity as the younger man in the middle backflipped to avoid their blades._

_A blade slashed across his arm, opening a gash over it. Hissing in pain, the younger man killed the one who had injured him._

"_I could help…" Tetra thought as she put her hand to her hips and drew out her scimitars. With a battle cry that no one seemed to pay attention to, the eighteen year old girl lunged into battle._

_Swinging her scimitar to sever a man's head, she gritted her teeth, but it never came. Her sword simply passed through._

_With a greater confusion than ever, she tried again. To no avail, her blade kept passing through the man's body, leaving no scratches behind. The man didn't even seem to notice the girl behind him!_

_Ugh…Why do I keep forgetting? " she thought as her Triforce glowed, clearing her mind a little. "That's right… I'm just a visitor… This is a dream… I cannot affect my surroundings, nor they can affect me…" she spoke, knowing that no one could hear her._

_Simply sighing as she sheathed her trusty scimitars, she kept watching the battle intently._

_Now, it was more and more evident that the young man was losing. He had killed two more of the men assailing him, but even the most ignorant fool in Hyrule could have noticed that the boy was weakening. The enemy was just waiting for the right moment to strike…_

_The boy's cloak was completely soaked in blood, whether his' or the enemy's, Tetra couldn't tell because of the darkness of the night and the invisibility of the young man's wounds through his dark green cloak. Though she guessed that most of it was probably his', since the enemy bore visible marks of wounds, yet not all that big._

_And as expected, it wasn't long until an enemy got the right opportunity to strike._

_Dodging under the boy's incoming sword, the man thrusted his weapon into the boy's stomach._

_The boy's eyes widened as he opened his mouth to gasp desperately for the air that was escaping him. Dropping his sword, the boy fell to his knees, still gazing into thin air with his horrified expression. His wound was now soaking his entire front in red, making him a little more visible in the night._

_Tetra gasped as she broke into a run for the circle of men who were now amassed around the dying boy. Passing right through the men, she gasped once more when she realized that the boy had closed his eyes._

_His hood fell over, revealing his charming face. The moonlight shone over the young man's now-serene face, revealing his physical features._

"_I know this too well now…!" Tetra thought as she scanned the boy's face._

_Long blond hair sticking to his forehead because of the sweat and blood, red liquids running down the side of his open mouth, searching desperately for air, coughing up the blood clogging his air pipes. His eyelids were closed, and his breathing became panting, then desperate gasps. Only when he opened his azure eyes one last time…_

"_Link…!" Tetra breathed as the Hero closed his eyes. Expecting to disappear, she realized she was still there._

"_Does the dream want to show me more?" she asked herself as she kept watching, as she couldn't do anything about it since she was only a spectator._

"_Oh Link… Please get up…" she whispered as fell to her knee, tears swarming up to her eyes._

"_He's disabled. Tie him and take him to the ship. We have to set sail right now…" one of the caped assailants said as the three others bent down and tied Link's wrists and ankles, then gagged him with a white cloth that a man sprayed with what Tetra deduced to be drugs since a lot of them closed their noses as he did so._

_With a grunt, the sturdiest man picked Link up and slung him over his shoulder as if he was a mere parcel. Then, with another silent nod, the group disappeared in the night through the other alley leading away._

"_LINK! NO! WHERE ARE THEY GOING? WHERE ARE THEY TAKING HIM? WHO ARE THEY? WHAT DO THEY WANT WITH HIM?" she bit her nails as she got up and started running after the men who had now disappeared in the growing darkness._

_Following them to the secondary dock, the one located on a hidden part of town, she watched worriedly as the men called to the people on the deck. There was a shout in reply, and then a wooden plank came down from the ship. Walking on it, the five remaining men climbed aboard and removed the plank._

_Tetra hurriedly ran to the end of the dock, and arrived right in time to see the men pulling their anchors off. She took a step forward again, but quickly drew back as something poked her bare foot._

_Bending down, she grabbed the little glistering object on the ground and brought it up to the moonlight to see it._

"_One of Link's earrings…That's right… I found this last night too…" she thought as she eyed the metal blue loop that Link usually wore on his ear._

_Another loud call echoed through the silent night air and Tetra looked up. Grabbing the rope dangling by the side of the ship, she climbed aboard._

"_I guess the dream needs to show me more now…" she thought as she looked where they were taking Link._

_Following the man that still held Link over his shoulder like a miserable little package, she walked down, down, down, down into the storage area of the massive ship. Once there, the man holding Link got him off of his shoulder and put him down, letting him go. _

_Link grunted in pain as the man knelt down and clumsily wrapped some bandages around his wound. Then, paying no further attention to the tied up and gagged unconscious boy, the man walked away, closing the door._

_Tetra quickly knelt down to Link, eyeing his wound. Simply wishing she could affect her surroundings, she stared at her love, breathing heavily, and getting even more trouble with the drugged gag over his mouth and nose._

"_Destination ahoy!" someone from upstairs suddenly yelled._

_Tetra didn't wanna go at first, but something uncontrollable took control of her senses and forcefully made her get up._

"_No! I wanna stay with Link! LINK!" she yelled as her body didn't react and kept walking towards the door, soon closing it afterwards and blocking her dying love from her view._

_Link…" she whimpered as she ended up back on deck, where all the crew was amassed, looking in one particular direction._

"_What is that? What are they looking at?" she thought as she walked towards the ship's front, gazing out at the peaceful ocean. Or almost._

_A massive, roaring waterfall…Dripping from the ocean into the depths of the unknown… The massive waterfall, known as…_

"_World's End…" Tetra breathed in awe and fear as she eyed the falling waters that plunged into a never-ending pit. Whoever fell into it would never return. _

_The story of the World's End waterfall was fascinating. A few thousand years ago, they said, Hyrule was one country. Then, by some historically ignored accident, Hyrule shattered into the islands they knew now. World's End was supposedly where the border from Hyrule to another country known as Termina was before the country fragmented. No one knew what happened to Termina. Some say it was destroyed in a massive earthquake. Others say that a great wave, resulting from the fragmenting of Hyrule, crashed onto the country and sank it into the depths of the ocean. There were many suppositions, but no one agreed on one._

_Anyways, Tetra knew the consequences of getting too close. Whoever got into a range of a mile from the waterfall would get sucked into the awesome power of the rushing waters. And whoever fell… They wouldn't only die, but their soul would get trapped in the power of the current, never enabling them to return back to the top world to wander there. It simply tried uselessly to climb back up the waterfall, failing for eternity._

_And those were, once more, myths and suppositions. Everyone was too afraid of World's End to even try._

_Yet, she found it weird that the crew aboard did not panic or try to get away. No, they simply stood and watched as their impending doom approached._

"_What the hell are they waiting for?" Tetra thought as they got closer and closer to the waterfall._

"_They're gonna die!" she thought as the ship turned sideways, attracted by the inevitable current._

"_What the hell's going on…?" she thought as the ship suddenly…_

_Disappeared…_

_Into thin air!_

_Tetra let out a small cry of surprise as she fell into the water. Thankfully, she did not express the need to breathe in this dream-world, so she looked around. The ship was completely, and utterly gone…_

_With Link…_

_Her world suddenly shot dark as she was abruptly pulled away from her world and plunged back into reality…_

_---_

And she fell backwards onto a wooden deck.

"Ow…" she mumbled, rubbing her head.

"TETRA! WHAT THE HELL HAPPENED? ARE YOU OKAY?" Link's worried voice rang around her as she opened her eyes to look. Link was right on top of her.

"What… What was I doing…?" she asked.

"Tet! You were gonna jump!" he said with a worried expression.

"What?" she asked, sitting up.

"You got up on the side rails and you were about to jump overboard!" he told her, making big motions with his arms.

"What? Really?" she asked him.

"Yes, really. Look around. We're on the deck. I pulled you back right when you started to incline overboard." He rolled his eyes.

"Oh… I'm sorry… It's just that…"

"One of your dreams again?"

Jolene stepped into the view of the two teenagers, now followed by a fully-awake Linebeck.

"Before you apologize for waking us up, I'll tell you that your safety is much more important."Linebeck told her as she blushed.

"Now tell me… Why did you do that…? Were you sleepwalking? Because I've never seen you sleepwalk since you learned how to walk." Jolene smiled at her as she kneeled down and brushed some hair out of her face.

"I… I didn't know… Last thing I remember was…" Tetra started, but couldn't finish.

_Boat…World's End… Disappear… Drowning… Link…_

"I…I…I had a dream again…" she said, curling up in a ball as Link set his arms comfortably around her and hugged her.

"Tell us everything…" he encouraged her once more as she shuddered, then decided it was for the best.

"Well, starting from the place those thugs tied you up and kidnapped you, they took you aboard a ship. I also went on the ship, and we sailed until World's End. There, they were about to fall into the waterfall, when suddenly, the ship disappeared, and I fell into the water, waking up…" she briefly told them as Jolene's eyebrows furrowed.

"But… No one has ever been to World's End before… We don't know what effects it has…" she said.

"But they just… Disappeared… like that… Taking Link with them…" she shuddered as Link rolled his eyes.

"Tet… Calm down… I'm right here…" he whispered in her ear, caressing her long blond hair.

"I know… But what if it's not meant to last…? What if destiny has other things in store for us…?" she asked, looking at him with fear swirling in her eyes.

"It's okay now… I'm right here for you… Let's go to bed, now, shall we…?" he said as he picked her up and gently carried her back to her room, leaving Linebeck and Jolene to ponder on what she said.

---

"There… Now have a good night Tetra…" Link said as he pulled the covers up for her and sank next to her. By the time he had kissed her goodnight, she was already asleep.

Sighing, Link also bent down and laid down next to her, thinking about what she said. He wasn't acting worried in front of the others…. But…

…What if Tetra's dreams had a particular sense…?

----

Tetra woke up under the gentle touch of a smooth hand. Eyes still closed, she leaned into the hand that cupped her cheek. The heat was spreading fast, waking her up. Her eyelids fluttered open, revealing her beautiful azure eyes underneath.

"Morning beautiful…"

"Morning handsome." Tetra replied as she looked at who was talking to her.

As usual, Link was there, waiting for her, sitting on the bed with his hands caressing her cheeks and hair.

"Ah, so you finally acknowledge that I'm a handsome Moblin?" he chuckled as she giggled.

"Handsome Moblin? Never heard of that type of creature… You're unique in the world…" she whispered as she sat up and put a quick peck over his cheek before shooting up and heading out of the cabin.

"THAT WASN'T EVEN A REAL KISS!" Link objected as he also shot up and ran out after her.

---

"Morning, you guys…" Tetra greeted as she walked towards Linebeck and Jolene who were already sitting around the breakfast table.

"Morning, suicide babe." Linebeck snickered as Jolene slapped the back of his head hard. He mumbled a curse about her and her strenght, rubbing the back of his head.

"So it really did happen…?" she asked them.

"What…?" Link butted in, carrying their breakfast. He set it down on the table and sat down next to her, briefly kissing her forehead before he grabbed a roll of bread and cheese and put it in his mouth.

"Yesterday's… little.. err… suicide attempt…" she blushed as Jolene rolled her eyes.

"Yeah, Honey. Thank the Goddesses Link was there, or you would've died for sure." She told her as she grabbed a roll and put it in her mouth.

"Link… Saved me…?" she asked.

"No, you think? Typical damsel in distress and the hero who needs to save her." He chuckled as Tetra frowned and abruptly slapped him over his cheek. Link fell down from his chair under the laughs Jolene was giving him, Tetra's angry glare and Linebeck's sceptical look.

"I'm not a damsel in distress. Now say that one more time, and you are going to be one too, understand?" she asked him with a sarcastic smile as he laughed and pulled himself up from the floor using the table as a support.

"It's good to have you back, Tet." He laughed as he pulled the chair back up and sat down on it.

"So… What's today's plan…?" Jolene asked them.

"I don't know…" Link said, shrugging as an idea sprouted in Tetra's mind.

"Hey! Remember what the barkeeper at the tavern told us yesterday? About those disappearances…?" Tetra brought up as Link's eyes glistened.

"Oh yeah!" he remembered as he ran away for a second, then came back with five posters under his arms. Spreading them one by one on the table, he pointed at the girls on the pictures.

"Okay. So these past few days, five girls have disappeared from all over Hyrule. They have nothing in common except they're all Island Mayors' daughters." Link started.

"Hey, I just thought of something…" Tetra suddenly interrupted, looking pensive. "Do you guys think… My dreams are linked to these disappearances…?" she asked them, looking up with a little hope, as well as worry glinting in her eyes.

"Maybe, maybe not. We'll soon find out though." Link said as he looked up at the two older pirates.

"So… If we go and find these pumpkin faces…" he grinned as he pointed at the reward under the pictures.

"Look how much rupees we can get. We wanted an adventure, and we got it. See?" he smiled as Jolene laughed and Linebeck slapped his forehead in annoyance.

"That's the Link I know!" Jolene congratulated. "Pirate in the blood!" she cheered.

"Yeah. It runs in the family. Plus, Linebeck should know, he raised me as one." Link chuckled, looking at Linebeck who rolled his eyes.

"I say we go!" Jolene said as she stuck one of her scimitars on the table.

"Alright." Link backed her up as he put one of his daggers on the table.

"Sounds fun." Tetra shrugged as she put a scimitar on the table.

"I'm no loner." Linebeck smiled as he also set a dagger on the table.

"OKAY THEN! WE LEAVE TONIGHT!" Link smiled as everyone nodded and with a cry of affirmation, they each retrieved their weapons and sheathed them.

"Till then, have fun, you guys!" Link grinned as he grabbed a rope and swung down from the ship onto shore, quickly running away.

"Where'd he go?" Linebeck asked.

"Probably off somewhere drinking himself crazy while he can." Tetra grinned.

"That's my boy. He makes me proud." Jolene grinned sarcastically.

"Typical Jolene." Linebeck chuckled as the threesome burst into laughter.

---

The day passed quickly as Jolene and Linebeck passed most of the day in town, roaming around and playing games or sitting and chatting over a drink (which they did one too many times, but surprisingly, none of them got drunk…).

Tetra, on her side, passed most of her time on the ship, preparing them for the departure at night. She made sure everything was okay, ran to town to restock on some food products while she still could (cheese and bread every morning can get annoying in the end…) and set the ship up for whenever they were going to leave.

And, of course, no one found any signs of Link during the day. He was probably off somewhere drinking his head off and laughing with some other drunkards like Tetra has stated.

---

"Hey guys. Welcome back aboard…" Tetra greeted the older couple as Jolene and Linebeck hookshot aboard.

"Hey. Now all we gotta do is wait for that drunk bastard to get back here, and then we can leave." Jolene giggled.

"Yup." Linebeck agreed as they headed over to the middle table. "Until then, lemme show you a game that I've learned a long long time ago, but never had the chance to show you." He smiled as he took out a pack of playing cards and put them on the table. Intrigued, Jolene and Tetra sat down around the table and watched him as he also took out some colourful chips, then headed away and came back with three mugs of beer.

(A/N: Anything between the two bold-underlines is optional to read ^^) **_"Okay_**. So, the game's called poker, and it's a betting game. Which doesn't matter since all our money is all ours, but if you ever play it in public, you have to bet rupees. Anyways, I'll explain to you the rules of this amazing game. I'm sure you'll appreciate it." He grinned as he set the beer mugs in front of everyone and started his explanation.

"In casual play, the right to deal a hand typically rotates among the players and is marked by a token called a 'dealer' button. In a public place where you can play this game, like a tavern, or a bar, a house dealer handles the cards for each hand, but the button, typically a white plastic disk, is rotated clockwise among the players to indicate a nominal dealer to determine the order of betting.

One or more players are usually required to make forced bets, usually either an ante or a blind bet (sometimes both). The dealer shuffles the cards, the player one chair to his right cuts, and the dealer deals the appropriate number of cards to the players one at a time. Cards may be dealt either face-up or face-down, depending on the variant of poker being played. After the initial deal, the first of what may be several betting rounds begins. Between rounds, the players' hands develop in some way, often by being dealt additional cards or replacing cards previously dealt. At the end of each round, all bets are gathered into the central pot.

At any time during a betting round, if one player bets and no opponents choose to 'call' the bet and instead "fold", the hand ends immediately, the bettor is awarded the pot, no cards are required to be shown, and the next hand begins. This is what makes bluffing possible. Bluffing is a primary feature of poker, one that distinguishes it from other vying games and from other games that make use of poker hand rankings.

At the end of the last betting round, if more than one player remains, there is a showdown, in which the players reveal their previously hidden cards and evaluate their hands. The player with the best hand according to the poker variant being played wins the pot. A poker hand consists of five cards, but in some variants a player has more than five to choose **_from."_**

"Got that?" Linebeck asked them as Tetra slowly nodded.

"Yeah… So basically, you need to use your cards to bet, and then try and gather the pot, right?" she asked him.

"Yeah, in a Deku nut shell, if you want." Linebeck shrugged.

"I've heard of it. So are we gonna play or what?" Jolene asked as she brought her mug up to her lips and drank a swig.

"And… What's the beer for…?" Tetra asked.

"Well, poker is better with something alcoholic to drink!" Linebeck laughed as Tetra giggled and grabbed her mug, drinking a bit as Linebeck distributed their respective cards and started the game.

---

"_HIC_ what time is _HIC_ it now…?" Tetra hiccupped, barely sitting straight on her chair.

"Almost midnight…" Jolene answered. "Oh, and, Linebeck, I have the feeling you shouldn't give these kids so much alcohol…" she told him as he shrugged.

"The game goes better with beer, so as long as we're playing, we still gotta drink!" he defended himself.

"Yeah… look at that, you're at your fifth mug, and she's still at her first, and she's already drunk. Good job dufus." She commented as Tetra hiccupped again to prove her point.

"Yeah, but it's been five hours straight we've been playing. It's okay." He shrugged, sipping another mug of beer.

"Ugh…" Jolene rubbed her temples in annoyance.

"_HICCUP!"_

"Okay Tet. I think it's time for you to go to bed…" Jolene said as she got close to Tetra.

"But… _HIC_… What about _HIC_ Link? We were _HIC_ supposed to leave _HIC_ now…" she mumbled.

"I'm sure he fell down asleep drinking somewhere in town. He'll be back tomorrow morning for sure, and then, you can kick his ass." Jolene smiled as she touched Tetra's left forearm.

A strange feeling ran through her mind as something blinked and an image briefly flashed in front of her eyes.

…_Link… Bleeding… Unconscious…_

"Tetra…" Jolene snapped her fingers and brought her back to reality for a moment.

"Hunh?" she asked, waking up.

The feeling returned, blinking again, then, another image flashed briefly in front of her eyes.

…_Link…Unconscious…Bound and gagged… Still bleeding…_

"_Something's wrong…"_ Tetra thought as she snapped out as soon as the vision vanished.

And another flash, another vision.

_Someone…Dragging Link…Unconscious… Still bound and gagged…Wounded…_

Linebeck touched Tetra's shoulder, snapping her out again.

"Tetra, what's wrong? Why are you zoning out?" he asked as Tetra turned around, concealing her worry.

"Uh… Nothing… It's nothing… I guess you're right. Link is probably off drinking somewhere. When he comes back tomorrow, I'll be sure to give him a piece of my mind." She chuckled nervously.

"So… I guess that means we have to report the sailing to tomorrow morning… Don't worry about it." She smiled nervously as she turned on her heel and abruptly started walking away towards her room.

"Tet…" Tetra turned around and saw Jolene looking at her doubtingly.

"You sure?" she asked.

"Yeah, I'm sure. Now quit worrying, I'm sure he'll be back tomorrow morning by the latest." She smiled, hiding her true worry as she turned around and entered her cabin.

*******************************

**Author Notes:**

***spoiler for the story* And I'm sure he won't XD *end of spoilers for the story!***

**Oooh... I've been wanting to post this chapter for you forever ^^ I think it's where "the plot thickens", like some authors say ^^ **

**Oh, about those underlined and bold and italicized parts in the text, those were not a formatting mistake ^^; They were the entire paragraphs explaining how to play poker. XD, I don't know how to play, so I just copy-pasted the definition from Wikipedia while bringing a few minor changes to fit the context ^^; I know, I'm a cheater. Flame me if it makes you happy, but all you could've done was skip that part. I just wanted ot insert Poker in here to show you how pirate-ey they can be XD. And the description was made because apparently, Poker doesn't exist in Hyrule, or isn't common ^^;**

**Enough about Poker, let's get back to the story ^^. So... Err... I think the next update will be up by Friday, since I can't eat my nails off forever. But, since we got half-day exams, I can get more time to write (screw studying, I'd rather spend my afternoons writing this fic XD) after the exams :D**

**Anyways, better go tape my fingers to keep myself from biting them, but asides that, hope you have a great rest of the day, or whatever, dunno when you're reading this XD**

**AND SEEYA FRIDAY!**

**PS: Sounding like a broken record. DON'T FORGET TO REVIEEEEEEEEEEEEEEW!!!!!!! I love hearing what you guys think, and how I can get better ^^ :D BYEZ!**


	4. Track You Down

**Author Notes:**

**Gah, I (as usual) feel awful for making you wait, but at least I'm done with chapter 7 now ^^ So here's chapter 4, which is a short interlude, short compared to the rest, since it's about 3 k words XD. But asides that, I have nothing else to say but I hope you enjoy it ^^ So here's chapter 4 :D**

**EDIT:**

**Guess the best part. When I got home from school, I FORGOT TO POST! O.O I JUST REALIZED IT! SOMEONE KICK ME FOR FORGETTING! D":**

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Tetra kept tossing and turning in her bed that night. It was like any other night, yet one thing lacked truly. The heat…

The comfortable, beautiful heat that spread when Link slept next to her… That comforting aura that could solve any problem or worry…

"Link…" she whispered, looking out of the window. "Where are you…?" she whispered again, looking towards the sky. For a second, she thought she had seen his smiling face flash in the sky, but then she turned away and vowed herself to sleep.

Even though she had told Linebeck and Jolene not to worry, she couldn't even sleep a wink. Her dreams and recent flashes kept hovering in her mind, creating a stress she couldn't get relieved of until she saw Link safe and sound next to her.

Sighing, she got up and went over to the mirror on her wall. Looking in it using the thin beam of moonlight shining through the window, she saw a face that wasn't hers'.

Long hair ran down her shoulders, a crown was nested atop her head, glowing azure eyes and shining lips, perfectly curled around in a shocked expression.

Tetra gasped and set a hand on the mirror. Her alter ego in the reflection did the same. As soon as their touches superficially met, another flash crept inside Tetra's mind, cutting her off for a second.

_Link… He's finally awake… But… Struggling against his bonds… Wound bleeding through the clumsy bandages…_

She gasped as she came back to reality, sitting on the floor. She realised she must have fell during her vision. She started sweating profusely as she held the table and pushed up to look at the mirror again. Zelda's reflection was gone…

Trembling with all her might, she made a great effort to get away from the mirror and sit down on her bed. As soon as she touched the mattress, another flash came between reality and her mentality.

_Link… He was still struggling. Suddenly, a foot crashed violently on the side of his head, and he dropped silently, a red stream starting to flow from the impacted area._

"LINK!" she breathed in horror as she came back to reality and realised she was sprawled on her bed.

"They're just stupid figments of your imagination, Tet…" she calmed herself down as she made herself more comfortable on the empty bed, trying to sleep. Her body needed to, but her mind didn't allow it.

But no matter how hard she tried, she still passed a restless night, staring at the ceiling, wondering if Link was alright…

And she was pretty sure the answer was a huge, resounding…

No…

---

No one woke her up that morning. No one touched her, no one called her, no one kissed her good morning…

She slowly got up, trying to hide herself from the blowing emptiness of the huge room. Link's aura, his very own presence was all that kept this place alive. Without him… She…

Tetra sighed as she headed out of her room. It was obviously very early since the sky was very foggy, and the sun wasn't very visible. It was also very obvious that no one was awake since the table for breakfast on the upper deck wasn't even set.

Sighing once more, she shuddered at the cool wind blowing around at the early hours of the morning. Closing her eyes, she titled her head upwards towards the heavens and breathed in deep before exhaling and opening her azure eyes shining with worry to look at the cloudy sky. For another moment, she thought she saw Link smiling at her through the clouds, then it became normal again.

She was so caught up in her thoughts that she didn't realise Jolene and Linebeck had woken up and were walking towards her. Gripping the side rails and looking up at the sky once more, she breathed in deep just as another vision flashed inside her head.

_Link… Unconscious… Still bound… His stomach and head still bleeding profusely… Face terribly white… But... Two cloaked figures… Whispering next to him… Motioning at him sometimes… Those could be…_

"Tetra…"

She came back to reality just as she had made a deduction. Turning around, she saw Jolene looking worriedly at her.

"Something's wrong and you know it…" she told her, staring at her straight in her eyes.

"Okay… I give up…" she sighed as she looked at them.

"I've been having these short image-vision flashes lately. They always show Link in some sort of negative situation. In most of them, he was bound and gagged, unconscious, bleeding through his stomach…" she told them. Just like her subject, one last flash appeared in her mind.

_Link… Finally, his binds and gag were taken off… But… He was chained vertically on a wall… Head dropped over his chest, unconscious… he was still bleeding, like the right side of his head and the front of his bare torso proved._

Waking up, she violently snapped her eyes open and gasped.

"Link's in trouble." She simply stated as she turned around and ran for the side rails giving over the main dock. Jumping over, she fell down and miraculously landed safely at the bottom and ran away.

"Don't just stand there!" Jolene yelled at Linebeck as she got up and hookshot to shore, running after Tetra, soon followed by Linebeck.

---

Following her Triforce that had awakened once more sensing her uneasiness and worry, Tetra ran like a madman through Cannon's alleys. Paying no attention to her surroundings, she simply kept running while following her Triforce's signals that were telling her where Link's aura had been felt last…

She finally ended up at the outer dock, the hidden one behind the tight alleys of the island. She only slid to a stop right in time to avoid falling into the water. Panting, she looked up at the morning sky. The sun was barely rising, and already, she felt emotionally drained.

Link's aura… Had been felt last here… So that meant… He was on the island no more…

Taking another step forward as Linebeck and Jolene appeared behind her, she stepped on something small but pointy. Quickly retreating, she bent down and grabbed the little object she had stepped on, bringing it up to her face to analyze it.

"Link's… Earring!" she almost screamed in horror as she eyed the little blue metal hoop Link wore on his ear.

"What? What is it?" Jolene asked as she ran closer to her.

"Link's earring! He's not here anymore!" she screamed as a weird feeling overtook her senses, cutting her from the world for a moment, just like when she had a flash or a vision.

"_If you ever want to see your hero alive ever again, follow your Triforce and it will guide you to us. Then, hand it over, and your hero shall be safe."_

The telepathic message soon ended, bringing Tetra abruptly back to the present, throwing her violently on the sides, into Jolene's arms.

"You okay?" she asked as Tetra didn't even make an effort to get back up. She kept panting and sweating profusely.

"Link… He's been… kidnapped… like I had dreamed of…" she panted as Linebeck's and Jolene's eyes widened in horror.

"His captors just sent me a telepathic message through his earring… They want my Triforce as a ransom for his safe return…" she said.

"Who is it?" Linebeck asked.

"I don't know… I don't think the voice is familiar to me…" she told him worriedly as Jolene helped her back onto her feet.

"But I'm determined to find him and bring him back safely." She said as she turned around and ran away again, soon followed closely by Jolene and Linebeck.

"WAIT!"

Tetra stopped running for a second as the Mayor of Cannon Island came running towards them.

"Miss Tetra! Please wait!" he huffed and puffed as he stopped next to her.

"Miss Tetra! I heard you were going to go look for the other disappeared girls! But right now, my own daughter, Malina, just vanished in a whirlwind of red magic! Please, you must find her! I'll give you a great reward if you do!" he begged her as she gave in to the Mayor's pleading look.

"I will…" she replied, running away as Linebeck and Jolene soon joined her sides. "And I bet that disappearance had everything to do with Link…" she gritted her teeth as they kept running towards the main dock.

---

"Quickly! All sails on, Linebeck, you're on sails! Jolene, you'll have to help him!" Tetra yelled as she went and sat on top of the Wolfos structure, crossing her legs on each other and closing her eyes.

"Just follow my directions…" she told them as she calmed down, closing her eyes. Elevating both arms to her shoulders' level, she breathed in deep and concentrated on the power of her Triforce.

Awakening, it first gave her a little shock, then, she calmed down, letting the wisdom of her Triforce fill her body completely, almost giving her a second pair of eyes that could show her the way to whom she was searching for.

"Follow me…" she suddenly whispered in a melodious voice that did not belong to her.

Linebeck nodded as he turned the ship around. Jolene watched Tetra to make sure she wasn't falling overboard in her current state of trance, evaluating the movements she was making.

---

The trip did not take long. Thanks to Tetra's very specific directions, they quickly sailed towards their final destination.

Tetra kept raising her arms in whichever direction they were supposed to sail. When they need to head right, she raised her right arm. And so on, adjusting the degrees of the angle of her arms to the degree angle that the ship was supposed to turn in that direction.

Not long after, maybe a two hour's sail afterwards, they finally got to their destination…

And Tetra finally opened her eyes as the faint sound of a roaring waterfall echoed through her ears. She smiled. They were almost there.

"What is that noise?" Linebeck asked as Jolene ran to the right side of the side rails and gazed over. Spotting their imminent doom, she turned back with a blank face.

"It's… It's…" she stammered, unable to say a word through her panic filled eyes.

"IT'S THE WORLD'S END WATERFALL!" she screamed as Tetra didn't even flinch at her reaction. Linebeck simply hung his mouth open, starting to turn the ship away.

"_They're gonna die!" she thought as the ship turned sideways, attracted by the inevitable current._

"_What the hell's going on…?" she thought as the ship suddenly…_

_Disappeared…_

_Into thin air!_

"Keep sailing towards it. Trust me on this…" she whispered calmly to the two panicked adults.

"How can you be so calm when our souls are about to be damned for eternity???" Jolene yelled.

Tetra didn't even disrupt her facial features. Still using that melodious, deep, wise voice she had been using since the beginning, she kept frozen while she looked at the waterfall and talked to them again.

"We're not gonna die. Now please, just trust me and keep sailing towards it…" she told Linebeck as she pointed at him.

Linebeck suddenly got overcome by the desire of doing whatever she would want. An unknown force took control of his senses as he kept staring blankly, sailing steadily towards the roaring waterfall.

"Linebeck! Do something!" Jolene yelled, seeing as Linebeck was still sailing towards World's End.

"No… She's right… We need to keep sailing…" Linebeck almost mechanically said, keeping his voice tone low and monotone.

"WHAT'S WRONG WITH YOU PEOPLE? WERE ALL GONNA DIE, DON'T YOU GET IT?" Jolene yelled at them.

"Jolene… Calm down…" Tetra looked reassuringly at her, sending a wave of comfort and heat to calm her down. Her muscles instantly relaxed and she slumped on the floor, suddenly very calm.

"Who are you…?" she finally asked.

"I'm Tetra. But my spirit will be named Zelda, if you'd like. Whenever my Triforce of Wisdom awakens, deep inside, my spirit stirs up. A new soul is born from that stirrup, and it is a pure soul with an infinite supply of knowledge and unquestionable wisdom…" Tetra gracefully replied as she floated off the Wolfos structure and landed gracefully next to Jolene.

"Also, with Zelda's spirit, I am able to cast more powerful magic, but am, unfortunately, more vulnerable to close combat attacks. That is why I cannot close combat with Zelda's spirit…" she smiled at her reassuringly.

"Do you believe me now?" she asked her, kneeling down next to her former captain.

"I… I do…" Jolene answered, mystified by the sudden transformation of Tetra's personality.

"Good then… Now just trust me, and keep sailing towards the eternal waterfall… It will take us one step closer to the maidens…" she said, turning around. "And one step closer to Link…" she added with a whisper that no one caught because of the waterfall that was now roaring dangerously close to them.

"Okay then. Tetra. I hope you know what you're doing. Because our lives are now… In your hands…" Jolene finally gave in as Tetra looked back at her and smiled reassuringly at her.

"Don't worry. I shall take good care of them." She smiled as they finally got to the edge of the waterfall. Jolene leaned over and could already see the black depths of the endless waterfall. Taking one last deep breath, she closed her eyes and waited to fall.

Seeing as the two others put their trust completely in her, Tetra smiled and looked in front of her.

The barrier had been crossed…

And they disappeared into thin air.

*******************************************************

**Authro Notes:**

**Zelda is in tha picture! :D Though I don't know if I should put much "Zelda" personality into the story or just keep it to Tetra. What do you think? Would you like to see Zelda's spirit talking again? Review to tell me ^^**

**And that waterfall scene was inspired by Pirates of the Carribean 3: At World's End. You'll recognize that scene if you've watched it. The waterfall's name is also taken from PotC3 ^^.**

**Okay. I feel bad for giving you such a short chapter, but I needed to seperate. As a reward, I have made the next chapter super long, trust me. About 5k words I think XD. And I think it was chapter 6 that was 6k words... OKAY! ENOUGH SPOILERS, YOU'LL JUST HAVE TO SEE FOR YOURSELF :D**

**And so, I'll post the next chapter sunday, hope you don't mind, but I still need time to type, and it's not very encouraging to type, not knowing who's reading and who's not. So just send me a hello to tell me that someone BOTHERED reading this story ^^ Until now, I thank shadows-of-ballance and Principessa Dell'Opera for following up and proving it with reviews, free hugs to you guys if you're reading this ^^**

**So if you want free hugs... *sigh* and my cookie... *hands cookie out* then REVIEW! PLEASE! I love my cookie and I won't give it out to someone who won't review XP.**

**And, asides that, I hope you liked it, and stay tuned. Two more days untilt he next chappie ^^ Hope you won't eat your nails like me. I bit my skin so much, that my mom wants me to put ducktape around my fingers to prevent me from biting off any more skin. XP I can't control myself, I feel so bad for making you wait DX**

**Own nothing except the plot. ^^ And the cookie at the end :D Hope you liked it, or hated it, it's your choice, so just review to tell me, kay? Thank you! I hugs you! *glomp* BYYYYYYYYYE!!!!!!!!!!**


	5. Beginning of a New Adventure

**Author Notes:**

**5 900 WORDS IN THIS CHAPTER! :O NEW PERSONNAL RECORD! :D But next chapter is longer, I think ^^ XD Enough spoilers.**

**Well, seems like the ducktape my mom suggested worked well enough ^^ If not looking a little weird... XD But asides that, I'm not biting my skin no more ^^ YAYZ! :D**

**Pretty long chapter, should be able to sustain you for a few days. Details on the next chapter in the bottom A/N.**

**And so, enough blablabla-ing, and I'll give you the stoooooryyyyyy! Here's chapter... err.... 5... yeah, it's 5 XD:**

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Stars, flashes, patterns, bright lights, swirling all around them, slowly giving place to the darkness hovering around them. Flying through time and space at the speed of light, their vision blurred as there was a big, blinding explosion that made them close their eyes.

And the next thing they knew…

They were sailing over the sea again…

"Ugh… My head…" Jolene complained as she picked herself up from the wooden planks and rubbed her head.

"What just happened…?" Linebeck asked, rubbing his eyes to adjust them to the sudden change of environment.

"We made it…" Tetra simply smiled, loosing her deep, rich voice to go back to her usual, mature, yet playful voice.

"So… I guess… 'Zelda' is gone, hunh?" Jolene asked her.

"Yes. I have no need for the Triforce of Wisdom anymore right now to protect us. It will only guide us to what we want to find." She told them with a smile.

"Okay then… Let's disembark over there…" Linebeck suggested, motioning to the solid continent not very far away form them.

"Okay." Tetra agreed as he sped the ship towards the solid ground. And after about ten minutes, they stopped and dropped anchor. Hookshotting to solid ground, they dusted themselves off before looking around to analyse the continent they had stepped on.

"Where are we…? This isn't Hyrule…" Linebeck noticed.

"Of course not. In my dream, the ship disappeared like we did when they got to World's End. So I figured it was some kind of portal. And so, I guess we've made it to another dimension…" she explained vaguely.

Jolene threw her a quizzical look as Linebeck gave her a sceptical look. She blushed, revealing that she knew more than she let on.

"Okay, fine… I don't really know where we are, but according to the many legends that speak of its demise, I'd have to say that we have just arrived on the lost continent parallel to Hyrule." She explained as Linebeck nodded, understanding, and Jolene kept looking at her incredulously, understanding nothing.

"Guys, welcome to Termina." She smiled at them.

"Ah! So that's why this place doesn't look like Hyrule…" Jolene said, looking around.

Termina, like Tetra had suggested, was a vast plain. No buildings or structures could be seen. They guessed it was because when Termina disappeared, the buildings were all destroyed. All that was left was a barren wasteland. All the trees and grass were charred and burned. A cold wind blew, carrying their ashes, whirling in the air and falling back down, adding to the miserable scenery of the lost continent.

In the distance, a chain of mountains rose over the clouds. Under it, it seemed like there was a little forest growing. A little on the east side, it seemed like there was a little dried up lake. In the middle of the entire land they could see, Tetra finally noticed that remains of ancient structures remained. There were broken rocks used for building scattered everywhere in a pattern that suggested that something used to stand there.

"This is creepy…" Linebeck mumbled as another wind blew, whipping their clothes and hair over their bodies.

"Well, better keep moving then." Tetra said as she closed her eyes again. Concentrating on her power, she left the world behind and entered her subconscious. In the darkness of her mind, she drew up some power from her Triforce and almost immediately, the darkness drew away to give place to the light.

Opening her eyes, she felt a familiar pulse running up her left arm. Smiling, she motioned for the other two pirates to follow her as they started walking across the wasteland of a field under their feet.

Looking up, they noticed the sky was dark. Looking down, they noticed that no life was present anywhere. Looking around, they noticed that no life could POSSIBLY be able to develop here. It was so… burned… and destroyed… In other words…

Termina was an example of an abandonned country…

Shaking the ominous environment out of their heads, Jolene and Linebeck followed Tetra as she guided them according to her Triforce's pulses. Soon enough, they had arrived in front of a cavern.

Oddly enough, the cavern was wide open, as if inviting them to come inside. Tetra took a step forward as Linebeck held her from going in.

"No… Tetra, it's obvious that this is a trap." He told her as she smiled sadly.

"I know. But this is where my signals are telling me to go… We have to…" she said, turning and walking forward.

"Besides… Link is here…" she whispered as all three of them stepped inside the dark, ominous cavern.

And like all of them had predicted, as soon as they were all inside, the rock that gave to the outside world closed on them, covering them in complete darkness.

"I told you!" Linebeck panicked as he tried pushing the rock open. After about five minutes of fruitless efforts, he slumped down, sweating and panting.

"It won't budge…" he said as Tetra nodded.

"I know… Someone's here, and they don't want us to leave…" she replied as she activated her Triforce once more, showering them in a flash of light emanating form her left hand.

"Follow me." She motioned for them to move silently with her as they tiptoed forward.

After some time walking in the darkness following Tetra's signals, they finally winded up in a large room.

"Someone's here…" Tetra whispered, and almost as if she was being listened to, a few torches on the wall lit up right when she said that, illuminating one part of the room, the part where they stood.

"Who's there?" Tetra asked, sensing some activity in the room.

"So you decided to come, hunh?"

Tetra looked around, trying to spot the voice that had said that.

"Who's…There…" she repeated, gritting her teeth as she rested her hands atop the hilts of her twin scimitars, soon imitated by Jolene and Linebeck.

"Ah… It's such an honour of having the Princess of Hyrule here. Unfortunately, we must get down to business." The voice sarcastically said again as someone stepped into the light.

Tetra couldn't identify him. It was a guy because of his voice, but the black cloak her wore with a hood kept him well hidden from all gazes.

"Who are you? And where's Link?" Tetra gritted her teeth harder, ready to attack at any time.

"Calm down, my dear Princess. I cannot tell you who I am, but as for you dear Hero, he's right here." He flashed a grin as he snapped his fingers.

A few more torches lit up behind the cloaked man, lighting up the area behind him. There, on the wall…

"LINK!" Tetra breathed in horror as she eyed Link's beaten body chained vertically on the wall. He was breathing with difficulty and just like Tetra's flashes, his head was dropped over his bare torso, with his stomach and the side of his head bleeding.

"Your dear Hero is right here…" the man grinned evilly as Tetra drew her scimitars and jumped for Link, intend on freeing him.

"Ah ah ah." The man stopped her, twirling his finger in the air. Link disappeared in the shadows once more. "Hand over the Triforce of Wisdom, and I shall let him go." He grinned at her.

"Never." She replied through her teeth, realizing one part of the man's intentions.

"Very well then." The man sighed and rolled his eyes as he snapped again. Link reappeared on the wall. Tetra gasped, but kept herself from jumping towards him again. "Watch your friend suffer until you do." The man grinned as he pointed at Link. A thin red beam shot out of his extended finger and impacted on Link's bare torso. Link shuddered in what Tetra deducted as pain.

Concentrating harder, the man made the beam get thicker and thicker, until it was finally a full fledged magic spell. Link shot up, struggling against the chains biding him to the wall. His back arched in pain as he screamed once, gritting his teeth.

"Link…" Tetra breathed in horror as he screamed again, adding to her terror.

"STOP!" she yelled at him, not bearing to see her love in such a terrible condition.

"Hand over the Triforce of Wisdom. Only then, I will be able to access the Triforce of Courage, and awaken my master." The man grinned.

"_Access the Triforce of Courage?"_ Tetra thought as she pointed one of her scimitars menacingly at the cloaked man.

"What do you mean by that?" she asked him as the man chuckled.

"Well, since you won't be able to stop me, I guess it's fine to tell you…" the man chuckled darkly. "The Triforce of Wisdom has always been overprotective. Too overprotective…" he mumbled as he accented on his magic spell to make Link scream in pain again.

Tetra's eyes swelled up in tears as she kept from shedding them and she watched the man intently again.

"And so… While the Triforce of Wisdom is still protected by someone pure, the Triforce of Courage is untouchable. But if the Triforce of Wisdom allows it, the Triforce of Courage can be extracted from the bearer and into someone else. If I get your Triforce, I can take down the barrier, as well as gain his Triforce…" the man laughed cruelly, lost in his dreams for a second.

"Dumbass." Jolene commented as she leaned over to Tetra and whispered the curse in her ear. Tetra smiled, but tensed up again.

"So if I don't give it, you won't be able to harm his Triforce. Then what use is he to you?" she grinned, trying to make the man let go of Link.

"Oh, well, the original use he had for us was bait for you. But if our plan fails, I won't need him anymore, so I'll kill him. Simple as that." The man grinned as he raised another finger and shot another red beam from it, adding to his collection and Link's growing pain.

"No!" Tetra gasped slightly as she covered her mouth with her hands. But it was too late.

The man, seeing as she had a weakness for the boy's safety, opened his entire palm, and, stopping the beams for a second, he grew a big ball of energy and hurled it at Link.

Link screamed in pain once more, shattering all that was left from Tetra's heart.

"Wait… Then… The girls disappearing from all over Hyrule… it was you too, wasn't it?" she asked him.

"Yes, they are also part of my plans." The man grinned, shooting another orb of magic energy and threw it at Link who had started getting problems breathing. He was trembling with all his might and his entire body was deathly pale.

"STOP IT! LET HIM GO!" she suddenly screamed, hurling a scimitar at the man. The man's eyes widened in surprise as he ducked at the last second, getting a part of his hood cut off by the incoming scimitar.

"Tsk tsk tsk… Don't try anything funny, or the boy gets it." The man frowned darkly as he multiplied the power in his magic orbs, hurling them violently at Link. Link screamed again, struggling like a madman to get out of his bonds. The first few tears of pain started rolling down his cheeks.

Indeed, it was a great deal for the three pirates. From their lives, they had only seen Link cry only about three times. The boy was so perseverant that he didn't usually cry in public.

"Link…" Tetra's swelled up eyes suddenly deflated, letting loose all the tears she was holding back.

Looking back she saw Jolene and Linebeck looking at her worriedly, casting a few glances at Link. With a nod, she communicated with Jolene.

"_The only way to get out of this… is… well.. gotta trick him… It can cost us a lot, but it's our only choice…"_ she thought as she looked at Jolene for support.

She also nodded as Tetra sighed, gathered her courage and threw all her scimitars on the floor.

"Very well then." She whispered as she walked towards the man. The man grinned as he finally stopped shooting Link. Link finally slumped down, shuddering in pain with every member of his body, letting a few tears roll down his cheeks. In the pressuring silence of the room, Tetra, Jolene and Linebeck could hear him sobbing slightly, panting for breath as he did so.

"Take it." Tetra suddenly said, giving the man her right hand. "Take it and let him go." She said, imitating a fake concerned voice. The man did not catch it, too blinded by the evil joy of having accomplished his mission.

He chuckled darkly and grabbed her right hand. Concentrating in his own spirit, the man let his soul slip through his fingertips and into Tetra's hand. Tetra shuddered at the iciness of the contact, but tensed up nonetheless.

"This is the wrong hand." The man suddenly stated, puling away.

"Really?" she asked him, trying to seem like she knew nothing of it.

"Yes, really. Switch it and give it to me." The man said as he closed his eyes again and concentrating on awakening his spirit.

Suddenly, Tetra brought her left hand up to her back, where she always kept an extra scimitar just in case of emergencies like these. Grabbing the scimitar out of its sheath, she slammed the hilt over the confused man's head. The man groaned in pain, but refused to lose consciousness.

Tetra sweated, then kicked the man in the stomach. The man doubled over as Tetra kicked him in the skull, finally making him cut off from the real world.

"GET LINK! WE DON'T HAVE MUCH TIME!" she yelled, joining Linebeck and Jolene as they sprinted to the unconscious boy's side.

Quickly breaking the chains binding him, with adrenaline pumping in their veins, the trio got Link down and Linebeck took him on his shoulder. Tetra grabbed the scimitars she dropped, then they all ran back from where they came from.

Stopping in front of the closed door, they looked around for anything that could help them break it.

"Wait." Tetra suddenly stopped them, closing her eyes. Digging deep to harness the power of her Triforce, she drew up as much energy as she needed, extended her hands, and, with one grunt of effort, a giant orb of dark energy shot out towards the door.

The door exploded with a loud boom as they didn't waste time and kept running outside onto the barren field and towards the ship.

Quickly hookshotting aboard, Linebeck put Link down and ran for the wheel as Jolene swiftly climbed the nets and freed the sails from their ropes and let them flow.

"GO! LET'S GET OUTTA HERE!" she yelled as she swung back down next to Tetra as Linebeck skilfully turned the ship around and sailed it towards the place where they had come from.

"You might have escaped this time, but you won't next time… I WILL get my revenge, mark my words…" an ominous voice rang through the air, making all three pirates shudder.

And, leaving Termina behind, they sailed through the portal linking the two parallel worlds.

---

The darkness and the flashing lights from the teleportation dimmed as the scenery of the beautiful country of the Goddesses replaced the weird symbols that hovered aimlessly in the air during the teleportation between the two worlds.

As the entire crew sighed of relief when they came out of the portal, they realized that they were not at World's End anymore. They were on the north side of Molida.

"Guess the portal transports you back someplace random over the ocean." Tetra deducted as she grabbed the wheel from Linebeck so that he could take a break and sailed calmly towards Molida.

The air was silent, until a groan disturbed it. Everyone aboard turned around to see Link, tossing around. Tetra steadied the boat as she ran down from the upper deck and onto the lower deck, kneeling next to Link.

He groaned of pain, then, slowly, he opened his eyes and sat up.

"Ugh… Where am I…?" he asked, eyeing around himself with a blurry eyesight.

"You're aboard the ship. We're sailing towards Molida." Tetra replied.

"Oh… last thing I remembered was those people…" he stopped, blushing, as he looked at Tetra.

"Now do you believe me?" she asked sceptically.

"Yes. You win. Your dreams were right…" he mumbled.

"So… Did you save me?" he asked.

"Yeah, with Jolene and Linebeck." She replied.

"Ah. How ironic. Saved by my damsel again." he laughed as Tetra pushed him back on the wooden deck.

"Shut up." She grinned at him.

"Okay then. Wake me up when we're there…" he told her, closing his eyes. A few minutes later, he was already sleeping.

Tetra chuckled, then returned to the wheel.

---

"Link… Link… Link wake up…" Tetra poked him gently as Link's eyelids fluttered open.

"Already?" he asked, disappointed.

"Yes, now come on. We're all on the upper deck. You wanted an adventure, you got one." Tetra grinned as she helped Link up. Together, they walked up to the upper deck where Jolene and Linebeck were already sitting.

"Morning sunshine." Jolene smiled at him as he smiled back and sat down next to her. Linebeck sat next to him as Tetra sat in front of him.

"Okay. So. Now we all know that that mystery man's intentions are negative. Link. Did you overhear anything helpful while you were taken captive?" Tetra asked him as Link seemed pensive for a moment.

"Well… I did catch most of his plans… When we defeated Ganondorf, he claimed his Triforce of Power by some ritual or something, I didn't catch that part… Then, he's going to use it to unleash a new evil upon Hyrule. It's name is Bellum…" Link started.

"Bellum has already emerged in that lost country we were in, Termina. It only needs the power of the seven maidens to break the great magical barrier between Hyrule and Termina to be released and wreak havoc over Hyrule. That's why that man was so interested in the seven maidens. Though I heard he only has six of them right now…" Link finished, still thinking about something.

"Oh, and, I guess it's useful to know that the six abducted maidens live on each six of the major islands around Hyrule. Only, the one on Royalty Isle hasn't been abducted yet. These maidens, as the man claims, are the element maidens. Their colours reflect the element they control, and they possess great magic, far more superior to anyone else. I think they can only match you, Tetra, since the carrier of the Triforce of Wisdom can cast great magic as well…" he smiled at her.

"That's very useful indeed, Link…" Linebeck told him before Tetra could reply to him.

"Yes…And I think it is time I tell you something…."

The voice belonged to someone else than Link, Tetra, Linebeck or Jolene. Stealthily shooting up form his chair and grabbing his sword, Link turned around and pointed at the cloaked carrier of the voice.

"I do not bear ill will towards you, Link… You know that too well…" the cloaked figure said with a chuckle as she took down her hood.

"ASTRID!" the entire crew greeted the fortune-teller as she smiled and got up on the upper deck next to them.

"Good to see you too, Heroes of the Four Seas…" she greeted them with an enigmatic smile.

"Yeah. Good to see you too Astrid… I suppose you're here to tell us something important about this new evil…" Link chuckled.

"Indeed… You have faired well, Heroes, but… The Four Seas are now threatened once more with an evil stronger than anything you've ever experienced ever before…" Astrid's smile disappeared into a frown as she held her hands one within another.

"Care to enlighten us on the situation?" Jolene asked her sarcastically.

"Of course." She replied with a slight smile as her gaze darkened once more and she started her tale.

"Long long ago, Hyrule was one big country. The land was peacefully ruled by its monarch, living a calm and nice life… Until… Bellum appeared…" she started with a frown.

"Envying the country and its free people, he shattered Hyrule into the pieces we now know as our Islands, hoping to destroy the country by doing so. Thankfully for us, the Hylians quickly adapted to their situation and named their shattered country with islands, quickly restarting their lives on their new terrains."

"Anyways, once Bellum shattered Hyrule, he turned away, thinking his job was done. But… He only underestimated the power of two kids. Two kids changed the course of time back then by opening the door to the Sacred Realm and taking the Triforces of Courage and Wisdom as their own. The Triforce of Power got lost in the flow of Time, passing through the hands of many people until now."

"Anyways, the Hero and the Princess of that time defeated and banished Bellum to the forsaken country of Termina that had been engulfed in the waters of the massive wave that Hyrule's shattering had created. Bellum stayed there to roam freely in the abandonned country, killing everything living there to turn it into his own personal Hell."

"But now, it seems like Bellum is trying to return using the Triforce of Power that has been given to that young pawn of his' as well as your Triforces… Now, he only needs to harness the power of the seven maidens to break free from his confinement to wreak havoc over Hyrule!" Astrid finished, looking at the young Heroes with hope shining in her eyes.

"Please, my Heroes… Do not let him escape… Please, save the maidens. With their help, Bellum can be finished off once and for all…" she told them.

"Of course we will. Hyrule is our country." Link grinned as he put an arm around Tetra's shoulders who was now seated right next to him.

"Yeah. We were born, we live, and will die for Hyrule." Jolene giggled as she put an arm around Linebeck's neck and pulled him down to give him a noogie with a childish grin.

"Only one question… Where are the maidens anyways…?" Tetra asked her.

"Well, three maidens are hidden deep within Hyrule. The other three are hidden lost in Termina… It's a parallel world to Hyrule, it looks exactly the same as it." She smiled.

"And the last one?" Linebeck asked her.

"The last one… Is standing right before your eyes…" Astrid enigmatically smiled at them, bowing her head slightly as she introduced herself.

"What? You're the last maiden?" Link asked her, astonished.

"Yes… I am… I am the maiden who can control the flow of Time, travel through it and see the future." She smiled slightly, then her smile became a frown once more. "Please…. Please save my sisters… I do not sense much time left…" she told them with a sad frown.

"We won't make it in time in that case…" Tetra noticed as Link seemed pensive. After a long silence in the air, he stood up, with determination glinting in his eyes and said.

"We'll have to separate in two groups then… Tetra, you and Linebeck take care of Hyrule. I myself and Jolene will go to Termina." Link suggested, looking at his friends' reactions.

Linebeck stayed impassive as always, Jolene nodded, accepting, and Tetra… well…

"LINK! NO!" she screamed, jumping at him and draping her arms around his neck.

"I can't bear to let you go…" she whispered, feeling tears rush up her eyes.

"Hey, come on. It's not that bad." He comforted her.

"But it kills me, not knowing where you are and how you're doing…" she whispered back at him.

"Look, I understand your concern, and I'm very concerned about you myself, but we have to take this chance! It's for Hyrule!" he said, lowering his voice to say the last part in her delicately pointed ear.

"And if you won't do it for Hyrule, then do it for me…" he told her, rubbing her back to make her feel better.

"But…" she tried objecting, but Link's passionate lips set abruptly over hers' cut her off. She leaned a little more into him, drinking into his captivating kiss, quenching her thirst while there was still time, knowing that she would not get this opportunity for a long time afterwards.

"I love you so much…" she whispered when Link finally let her go.

"Me too… I don't think Jolene would mind giving us a pair of her little gossip stones, right?" he asked as Jolene nodded and threw him a dull blue stone that usually shone when they communicated through it.

"There, you see?" he asked her, trying to comfort her.

"Thank you so much, Link…" she thanked him as she went over and sat back down with one last smile.

"You were saying, Astrid?" Link asked her, turning around to look at the cool Maiden of Time.

"Yes, about my fellow maidens… To save them, you'll have to scour the land, and even venture deep into unknown territories… And to help you, all I can do right now is give you these magical maps…" she said, heading for Linebeck and Tetra. Pulling out a worn brown parchment out of her cloak, she opened it and set it in front of Linebeck and Tetra.

"Look. This is a magic map of Hyrule. Whenever you press on a surface, it will zoom into it. I will also provide you with a magic pen with which you can take notes on your map, then erase them with no troubles. It will be quite helpful." She grinned, taking out a black and a red pen. She gave the black pen to Linebeck, then uncapped the red pen.

"I will also mark the general areas of the three maidens located in Hyrule for you…" she also said, drawing three crosses over their magic map, then zooming out and rolling the parchment before handing it to Linebeck.

"That's for Hyrule…" she said, then she turned to Jolene and Link.

"And as for Termina…" she said, pulling out a similar parchment and opening it in front of Link and Jolene. "It's the same concept. You'll also notice that your map is the upside down version of Tetra's and Linebeck's map. It's because Termina is exactly like Hyrule, save one difference. It is parallel, so the upside down version of Hyrule." She said, showing them the map.

"This map will also zoom in, and I will also give you a pen to write with." She said, giving them a black pen. "And, of course, I will mark the spots of the maidens in Termina." She smiled as she took her red pen and put three crosses on the map.

"There… You're all set…" she then finished with a smile as she rolled the map and gave it to Jolene and stepped back.

"To return to Termina, we will use my powers instead of the World's End portal. Linebeck and Tetra need the ship to travel Hyrule, so I will send you to Termina. From there, you can move by feet." She said.

There was a long, stressful silence after that, where no one dared to speak. The cries of a distant seagull awakened everyone once more as they all looked at each other with an entire flurry of emotions swirling around in their eyes.

"Okay then… I guess… This is it then…" Link mumbled as he stepped forward with Jolene.

"Yeah, I guess so…" Tetra agreed, getting up to say goodbye. Linebeck soon imitated her.

"Very well then. Just one more thought before you go. Bellum has already awakened in Termina. He cannot hurt you directly but his followers and servants will do whatever they can to stop you. Termina is much more dangerous than Hyrule, but Hyrule's temple, as in where you'll find the maidens, will be harder to find and will be more challenging than Termina's." Astrid told them.

"However, I will always hover between the two groups to check up and help you in time of need." She added with a smile.

"Well, we made the right choice then." Link grinned.

"Yeah. Tetra has the wisdom to solve the puzzles in Hyrule, considering that I'm very good at puzzles too…" Linebeck said.

"And Link has the courage to rid the temples of the bigger evil there, considering that I'm awesome at kicking monster ass…" Jolene imitated him as he chuckled and drew her into a kiss.

"I'll miss you…" he told her between kisses.

"It won't hurt… Come on, I won't bite…" Link grinned as he caught Tetra into a kiss, pouring all the passion he had into it, knowing it would be the last time for a long time.

"I love you sooo much…" Tetra said, finally letting loose a couple tears she'd been holding back all that time.

"Me too… Just do me a favour and don't do anything reckless…" he whispered, making her delicate pointed ear shudder in enjoyment.

"You too, alright?" she asked, kissing him once more before he let go and retreated towards Astrid, who was watching their embraces without any reactions. A second later, Jolene broke away from Linebeck and went over to Link's side.

"Are you ready to go?" Astrid asked them as soon as they were both posted at her sides.

"Yes. You can take us to Termina please…" Link told her.

"Very well then." Astrid said, closing her eyes. Lifting her arms towards the heavens, she softly started chanting a verse as a dim turquoise light appeared in her hands, glowing brighter by the second.

"I love you Link!" Tetra screamed. Link couldn't reply, but only winked at her before the turquoise beam engulfed the three travelers to Termina and made them disappear from the others' view.

As soon as Tetra felt she could safely open her eyes again, she whipped her head to the exact spot where Link had stood just moments ago.

"Have a safe trip, Link…" she whispered as Linebeck turned around and walked to the wheel, intending on completing this mission as soon as possible.

*************************************

**Author Notes:**

**LeGasp! Will they survive without each other? What a stupid question. Why do people write that in summaries? "Will Link and Zelda survive?" of course they will, you dumbass, 99.9 % of Zelda fics have the heroes winning in them XD. If you ever find the 0.1 % that has evil winning in it, immediately send me the link, okay? XD**

**This chapter was fairly long, but as much as I hate myself for saying it... I...I...I...*slaps herself to say it* I will post the next chapter in four days! I'M SORRYYYYYYYYY!!!!!! I need time to type, that's all! WAAAAAH!!!!! Plus, I wanna write a Christmas Zelda fic, so I'll also be working on that PLEASE DON'T KILL MEEEEEEEEEEE!!!!!!!!!!! *cryyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy* *sniffles***

**Anyways, I love torturing them, so let's see how their seperation will tear them apart especially when Link will --*THE REST OF THIS SENTENCE HAS BEEN BLOCKED FOR MAJOR SPOILERS IN THE STORY ^^ PLEASE DO NOT FEEL OFFENDED BY IT AS YOU WILL FIND OUT SOON ENOUGH :D WE WILL BE BACK SHORTLY!*-- and that's when they'll get together again! See? Wasn't that a sweet story? *awkward silence***

**I censored the spoilers again, didn't I? XD Sorry, but no spoilers for you! If you want though, I have a cookie and a free hug to anyone who reviews ^^**

***sees it doesn't work***

**Very well then. *coughcoughI'llgiveyou50$ifyoureviewcoughcough* HIIIIIII!!!!!!! I WASN'T BRIBING ANYONE! :D! So just review, and spare me the jail time, okay? ^^ So, review (yeesh. Sounding like a screwed up record XD) AND SEEYA NEXT TIIIIIIME!!!!!!!!!!!**


	6. Onwards to the Temples

**Author Notes:**

**God, I'm so sorry, it's just that I've been concentrating on my other fic "Twelve Days of New Year" until now, and I didn't get time to write the third temple. I'm screwed... :'( Oh well. **

**I won't bore you with incessant author notes, so just to say I'm sorry for deciding to post this late, but it had to be done ^^ XD and now, on with my story ^^**

**********************************

The transportation to Termina was pretty much the same as the one from the World's End portal. The blurry shapes, the flashing lights and the rushing patterns were still hovering around the three travelers.

Jolene had now gotten used to it. Astrid was still impassable. Link felt like he needed to puke.

And he exactly did so as soon as they appeared on Termina's grounds.

Link leaned over, fell to his knees and puked out everything he had eaten that morning. Patiently waiting until he was done, Jolene and Astrid crossed their arms while scanning the wasteland that was once a country.

"I'm done." Link declared with a wry grin as he got up and looked around.

"So this is Termina, hunh?" he asked, looking around at the charred trees and barren fields.

"You didn't see it before?" Jolene asked him.

"Nah, I was knocked out since the time where that man and his followers attacked me until when you guys came to save me." He shrugged as Astrid rolled her eyes and finally spoke up.

"My Heroes… As one of the maidens, I beg of you to save my fellow maidens, but as much as I hate my position right now, I cannot help you, for I am exposed to Bellum in Termina. I will return to Hyrule and follow your progress while visiting from time to time." She sighed.

"It's fine, Astrid, don't worry about us." Link smiled at her.

"Thank you. I wish you luck, my Heroes." She bowed once more, stepping back. "And with that, I bid you farewell." She finally said, smiling one last time before disappearing in her turquoise beam.

Keeping silent for a moment as they scanned the charred field, Jolene and Link shuddered at the absence of life and the cold wind that blew around, mercilessly whipping their hair in their faces.

"I guess we'd better get going, hunh…?" Link finally broke the pressuring silence as Jolene simply nodded and turned to him. Taking out the magic map Astrid had given them, she unrolled it and touched their location. The map instantly zoomed into their area.

"Well, the map Astrid gave us is saying that the closest Maiden is located inside that volcanic mountain there." she simply said, lifting her head from the map and pointing towards the sky to the towering mountain a little further away from them. At the top, a ring of smoke obscured the view of the very peak of the mountain.

"Well then, guess we'll head there first." Link decided as Jolene nodded, rolled the map again and gave it to Link. Link took it and opened a magic pouch he had acquired during his travels when he was fourteen years old. The pouch allowed him to carry as many items as possible without getting heavy and stored as many items as needed since it decreased their size when stored. Only when the user took the item out, the magic would turn it back into its original size.

So, the map stored away safely in the pouch, Link and Jolene nodded once more before starting off into a crazy sprint towards the base of the volcano, determined to get there before night fell. Already, dusk was approaching quickly, swallowing the entire land in the growing darkness of the night…

**XXXXXXXXXXX……………………XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

As soon as Link, Jolene and Astrid disappeared in Astrid's turquoise beam of magic, Linebeck rushed to the wheel, taking out his magic map. Touching the area in which they were, the map zoomed in to show him where the first Maiden was located.

"Well, the map says the first Maiden is located somewhere around here… Can you feel her energy, Tetra?" he asked her, turning around to look at her. Her gaze was frozen, though, when Linebeck pronounced her name, she snapped out and nostalgically looked behind where Link stood a few seconds ago, and then turned around and walked towards Linebeck on the upper deck.

"Yeah…" she simply mumbled as Linebeck sighed and ruffled her hair.

"Hey, it's okay. Just talk to them whenever you feel like it with that stone of yours." he smiled at her as she took out the dull blue stone from her pocket and toyed with it through her fingers.

"Okay…" she simply smiled sadly as she turned back to him and asked. "Are you sure this is the area?" she asked him. He simply nodded. "Okay…" she said, sitting down and crossing her legs.

Awakening her Triforce once more, she drew up some power and illuminated her path of mind. Letting her soul free to wander around for a moment, she directed it following her Triforce's signals. The Triforce blinked steadily through the misty fog clouding her subconscious. She simply followed the signals, heading left or right according to the blinking of the symbol of the Goddesses.

Finally making it out of the mist, she concentrated deeper as a blinding flash of light finally erupted, this time, other than the Triforce of Wisdom. Tetra simply eyed around her, noticing the weird background.

They were obviously underwater since she could see the ripples of water on top of her. Waterfalls flowed from around the circumference of the round room. The marble floor had shades of blue on it, reflecting the water that was magically floating on top of her without crushing her. Light shone from atop the surface of the calm waters, shining over the main object of the room in the centre of the circular space.

A girl, maybe as old as herself, stood in the middle, eyes closed, arms crossed over her chest. She was encased in a magic barrier of yellow light shaped like a diamond, closing her off from the rest of the world. Her hair was shining blond, as well as her sleeveless dress, that was pale yellow. Her breathing was soft, regular, making her chest rise slightly. Anyone could have sworn she was asleep, but Tetra knew that's she had been put under some kind of spell.

Closing her eyes once more, she concentrated on the Triforce of Wisdom, drawing some power from it. Slowly rising up, she headed towards the surface, now approaching quickly.

A few minutes later, she surfaced, looking around. The scenery was very similar to everything she had always seen.

The sea. The vast ocean, with water stretching as far as the eye could see. There were only a few things that could distinguish the area.

Three triangular rocks, summits facing Tetra in the middle, and three circular rocks, in between each triangle rock. Strangely, there were metal hooks on top of each island for some reason. All together, it seemed like they shaped some kind of a pattern.

Tetra didn't have time to dawdle on that thought as her soul quickly reinserted itself in her body and her eyes snapped open.

"I found her." She simply stated, standing up to look at Linebeck.

"Really? Where is she?" Linebeck asked her.

"I don't know exactly. All I know is that we have to find a set of six little island-rocks that form a pattern like this…" she started, grabbing the map and the pen and doodling the rough sketch of the three triangles facing each other and the rounds in between. "And then… We have to dive into the ocean. The Maiden of Light, I believe, is trapped in a temple under the water…" she said, giving the chart back to Linebeck.

"Well then, let's get searching… Can you help? Even with the area, this section of the ocean is huge!" Linebeck said.

"Yeah, I think… Just follow my movements like last time…" she said, heading for the Wolfos structure and sitting down.

"Okay then. Let's go!" Linebeck smiled as he took the steering wheel and looked at Tetra, who was now drawing the power she needed to locate the trapped Maiden of Light.

Taking in a deep breath, Tetra joined her hands together. A faint glow appeared in them, and an orb of magic son formed in the palm of her right hand. With another short ritual, another one also appeared in her left hand. Extending her hands to their respective sides, she closed her eyes and relaxed, concentrating on her inside power instead of her outside surroundings.

Taking the message, Linebeck simply started the ship, turning it around, watching Tetra's hands. The orbs flickered between yellow and blue in whichever direction they had to go.

And the ship set sail.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX…………………..XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

"Wait… we have to climb all the way up THAT thing?" Link asked incredulously as he pointed up at the tallest mountain he had ever seen.

"Map says so…" Jolene shrugged as she checked the map for the hundredth time.

"Well then…" Link cracked his knuckles, neck and ankles as he grinned. "…better get going then." He said as Jolene nodded and followed him as he started walking up the trail of the volcanic mountain.

"Hey… The thought just hit me…" Link suddenly said as Jolene ran to catch up with him.

"What?" she asked him.

"Is the temple inside the volcano?" he asked her as she shrugged and took out Astrid's map again.

"I think so…" sudden realization hit her as her eyes trailed over the map.

"So… How we gonna get inside the temple without becoming a roasted cucoo first?" Link asked her, pointing out the obvious.

"Well, if Astrid said that people lived inside the mountain before Termina got obliterated, then they must've had something to protect themselves from the raging heat… Maybe they left some clues up there…" she suggested.

"Okay then… Well just see when we get up there…" Link sighed as he looked up.

"Well, we have a long way to go, so we still have a lot of time to think about." Jolene chuckled sarcastically as they both sighed of discouragement, gazes scanning the mountain seeming endlessly high up into the sky, peak covered by a ring of clouds, giving it an even higher impression.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX……………………………XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

"We there yet?" Linebeck asked to Tetra, knowing it was no use. The young girl was still stuck in her subconscious, trying to locate the Maiden trapped underwater. It had been at least three hours they've been sailing in the same area. Tetra was constantly making him turn the ship, heading in an irregular pattern.

Sighing, thinking they were going to keep at it for more than an hour more, Tetra finally snapped her eyes open. As soon as she did, the orbs in her hand disappeared. She quickly looked around and smiled at Linebeck who finally noticed.

"So? We there yet?" he asked her as she got off the Wolfos structure and jumped onto the deck.

"Yeah, should be here… There must be a way to get down, some kind of portal or something…" she frowned, furrowing her eyebrows.

"What did you see in your vision?" he asked her.

"Well, there were six little islands surrounding the place where I emerged. I guess that's where the portal was…" she sighed, still not understanding.

"Describe the islands." Linebeck told her.

"Well, there were a total of six. Three were triangles, the others were circles. The three triangles had their flat side towards the sea and their summits facing in the interior, towards each other, leading to one common point. The three circle islands were in between every gap between the triangles. In the end, the pattern was composed of the islands and the little metal…"

_Strangely, there were metal hooks on top of each island for some reason._

"I GOT IT!" she suddenly screamed as she rushed over to the side rails, looking down into the water.

"The little islands had metal hoops on them! We have to pull them out! They're scattered rocks on the ocean floor! The hoops are made to grapple on with the Salvage Arm!" she smiled.

"But who's gonna go direct the Salvage Arm?" Linebeck asked.

"I'll go. You operate the Arm. I'll hook the arm to the hoop." She said as she smiled again.

"You sure?" he asked.

"Definitely." She giggled as she closed her eyes and briefly said something in Ancient Hylian. Her body was instantly wrapped in a blue bubble.

"Well, the bubble will last for ten minutes, so let's get going." She smiled as she stepped over the side rails and grabbed onto the rope of the Salvage Arm.

"Let's go. Lower me please." She smiled as Linebeck complied and slowly lowered her into the water.

As soon as her waist and down were into the water, Tetra dove in, carrying the Salvage Arm with her. She couldn't see the ocean floor yet, but usually, it wasn't very deep in these parts of the sea. Besides, if the islands were out in the air in her vision, then it was possible.

She quickly swam towards the bottom, swiftly avoiding the rocks that popped up sometimes.

A little later, like she had predicted, she saw the six little islands on the sea floor. Each hook had a common piece of rope going through it, tied in the middle on another hoop. Tetra kept swimming, now worrying a little as she saw the magical barrier that let her breathe was flickering, signalling that half her time was up.

Quickly setting the Salvage Arm's hook on the hoop, securing it, then pulling it abruptly, she signalled to Linebeck that he could pull. A few seconds later, the Salvage Arm's chain started reeling in. Tetra smiled as she swam even further down and helped pushing the islands. Strangely enough, the islands weren't very heavy, and, with the weightlessness under the water, Tetra quickly dislodged the islands that continued ascending towards the top of the water.

She then swam up on and grabbed the chain, getting pulled up while swimming to help push the chain further. Already, the barrier flickered once more, signalling that only two minutes were left for her to breathe. Her heart tensed up as she kept pushing with new adrenaline pumping her veins.

Only when she thought that everything was okay, and she could see the sunlight reflecting through the surface that was now closer, the barrier shattered.

The shards of the now useless magic slowly floated down into the dark bottom, disappearing form Tetra's now-blurry vision. Having forgotten that her shield was timed, she had depleted her entire stack of oxygen. Grabbing as hard as she could to the chain of the Arm, she felt her lungs burning for desperate air, just like that time when she and Link had fallen into he water during an attack when they were still ten years old.

She only had time to secure her legs around the chain before her vision dimmed and she blacked out.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX………………….XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

"How many more?" Jolene yelled over the sound of the attacking monsters. Link slashed, killing one and turned around to look around. The monsters were basically red spiders with one eye

"I don't know! They just keep coming!" he yelled as he made a spin attack, killing three, soon replaced by three others.

"I guess what Astrid said was true then. Termina is more dangerous." She grinned as she killed two other monsters.

"Yeah. Watch your back." He grinned. As if right on cue, a spider jumped on Jolene and knocked her down, inserting its fangs into the skin of her right arm.

Jolene screamed as the venom of the spider got into her blood, poisoning her.

"LIIIIIIIIIINK!!!!!!!!" she screamed, suddenly getting shaken with violent spasms resulting from the spider's attack.

All this happening in one second, Link didn't have time to register that his friend was dying. Turning around he gasped, leaving his guard down for a second. Taking the chance, another spider jumped on him and bit his left shoulder.

His eyes glazed over for a second as the poison entered his blood flow, also shaking him with violent spasms. Falling to his knees, shaken by his twitching, his eyes swelled up with tears when he realized Jolene wasn't moving anymore.

"No…" he whispered, seeing her blurry shape through his swimming vision. "NO!" he objected, telling himself that it wasn't real. The poison now travelled towards his heart, bound to kill him soon. Feeling his senses abandoning him, he gasped for breath as he closed his eyes to endure the extreme pain he was having throughout the last moments of his life.

Right before the poison hit his heart's main veins, his memories flashed through his eyes. Linebeck, Jolene… Red Wolfos, pirates… Tetra…

"Tetra…" he whispered, eyes widening in horror as he realized he would never get to see her again.

"TETRA! NO!!!!!!!!!!!" he yelled, suddenly powered up by the last bit of adrenaline left in his organism. His Triforce blinked, blinding the spiders for a moment. He gritted his teeth to avoid crying out in the intense pain his Triforce's sudden awakening, as well as the poison were giving him, and he closed his eyes.

Crying out in rage, pain and fear for one last time, his Triforce glowed bright, and in a second, Link released a big wave of Light Magic that washed over the spiders, obliterating them all. As soon as his miraculous spell finished, Link fell to his knees, gasping and panting for breath.

His Triforce had taken out most of the poison throughout his desperate fight for survival, but he could die if he didn't get rid of the rest soon. Slowly pushing himself close to Jolene, he put a hand on the side of her neck, checking for a pulse.

"She's alive…" he whispered faintly, closing his eyes in relief. Looking around, he vaguely made out the shape of a cavern. "Better get some shelter if we don't want to encounter any more of those…" he whispered to himself, bending down, and with all the strenght he had left, he took Jolene in his arms and slowly and painfully carried her inside.

It was only when he was met with the soothing coolness of flowing water that he closed his eyes and his eyes went numb. Dropping Jolene who rolled to a stop a few steps away, he felt his legs loosing their strenght as he breathed in one last time and fell down, motionless.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX……………….XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

Suddenly feeling more weight on the chain of the Salvage Arm, Linebeck raised a brow quizzically as he started reeling in faster. It was only when he saw Tetra's limp form appearing sprawled over the biggest of the triangles islands that he gasped, understanding what happened. Quickly turning the lever that brought the chain up even faster, he dropped the rock formation into the water and brought Tetra up, whose legs were still secured on the chain. The rocks didn't sink, merely floated in the pattern Tetra had described. But that was the least of Linebeck's problems right now. He set Tetra on the deck and checked her breathing.

She wasn't breathing anymore…

He put his palms on each other and started pumping her heart artificially, trying get her to breathe. Taking a little break after fifteen pulsations, he put his hands on her stomach and pushed. Tetra spit out some water, coughing and gasping, proving that her air pipes were clogged no more.

Linebeck sighed of relief as he set Tetra sideways so that if she were to spit out more water, she wouldn't choke on it. She finally coughed once more, moving on the hard deck.

"Tetra…" Linebeck called out to her. She only moved a little, coughing up some more water.

"Tetra…." He repeated as Tetra finally opened her eyes.

"Tet, you okay?" he asked her.

"Hunh..? Linebeck?" she asked, rubbing her eyes as she sat up.

"Yeah, you're back on board the Red Wolfos." He cleared up as she looked around to check. All her gaze was met with was the red and brown wood constituting the ship.

"Oh, okay…" she simply said as she got up, helped by Linebeck, and she headed to the side rails.

"Did we get the islands out?" she asked.

"Yeah. There they are." Linebeck joined her and pointed a little diagonally. The six islands were floating in the pattern Tetra had seen so many times.

"We have to do something… The portal should've been visible in the middle…" she said.

"Maybe if we get closer, we can see, no?" Linebeck suggested.

"Maybe. Let's take our life raft and go check it out." She backed him up as they both headed for the side, where their little red and yellow life raft with a Wolfos' head as a front, stood. Lowering it into the water, Linebeck and Tetra both sat in it as they both grabbed a row and started rowing towards the six little islands.

As soon as they got in the middle, Tetra felt something weird going on with her Triforce. Looking down on the back of her left hand, she saw it blinking over and over again without her asking for its power.

Cocking her head, she raised a brow when a pure, crystalline voice rang in her head.

She closed her eyes and concentrated on the voice.

"_Carrier of Wisdom, possessing Nayru's essence, only you have the power to open the portal to the underwater ruins of Hyrule. Use your Wisdom well, child. I wish you luck…"_

Her eyes snapped open as she understood what she had to do.

"Close you eyes." She simply warned Linebeck as she put her left hand in the water until her wrist.

Knowing to trust her too well now, Linebeck shielded his eyes right when a great glow shone from Tetra's left hand in the water. A wave of Light magic shot out from her hand and speared in a circular pattern. Stopping as a luminous circle in the water, the magic froze for a second, and dimmed.

Two seconds later, the magic reappeared, making flames of magic lick the surface of the water. The yellow magic shone brightly, being able to blind a normal human any day. But thanks to Tetra's Triforce and Linebeck's shielding, they came out unharmed.

Tetra simply grabbed her row and rowed into the circle of light. Light engulfed them as well as the boat as a protective bubble appeared behind them, and the two pirates descended into the ocean.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX………………..XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

A headache, a terrible fever running high, unsteady breathing and occasional spasms took control of Link's body he laid down in the shallow water pooling around him. Jolene sat next to him, brushing his hair, stuck to his face because of the sweat, out of his face. She sighed as she eyed the cavern once more, for the hundredth time.

Pure blue, crystalline water was gathered in a pool on the far side of the room. Marble steps brought a path up to the pool. Shallow pools of water gathered on each side of the marble path that lead to the steps to the large pool. Link was lying in the left one.

Sighing, she thought about what had happened just two hours ago.

The spider monsters, then she got bitten, and the poison spread… Then Link unleashed that attack that obliterated them all… Then, he carried her to this place, and they both lost consciousness in the shallow pools. She had just woken up an hour ago, and had noticed that all traces of poison had disappeared from her organism.

Link didn't seem so lucky. Although he wasn't in a fatal position, his condition seemed to be growing worse with time, and even the biggest idiot in the world could notice that if nothing was done soon, the eighteen year old boy would die.

Splashing more water on the boy's feverish face, Jolene caressed his hair, wondering what she could do to help him. They had forgotten to bring any potions because of their rash decision to leave with Astrid, and she had no magic to heal him. She sighed again as she got up and left Link and walked towards the large pool at the end of the room.

It seemed like a normal pool of pure water, but instead of stepping in it, Jolene kneeled in front of it, on the last marble step.

"Goddesses Din, Farore and Nayru… Wherever you are, please listen to my pleas…" she started, looking up at the sparkling ceiling of blue gems. "Please, coming from your humble servant…" she continued, feeling her eyes swell up in tears. "Please, for a moment, Great Goddesses, forget the wrong that I've done, and grant me a wish…" she continued, letting a couple tears flow down her cheeks and fall to the floor, creating ripples over the pools of water everywhere.

"Please, help me save the life of my friend. He has done much for me, and for his country. He does not deserve to leave the living right now. Please, I beg of you, save him, Hyrule's greatest Hero, from eternal wanderings of darkness. Coming from a loyal believer, please, grant me the power, courage and wisdom I need to save him." She finished, bowing her head in sign of submission.

There was a moment of silence, a slight breeze blowing in the room, giving Jolene a chill. Keeping herself bowed, she only waited for a sign of the Goddesses' approval and help.

It never came. Instead, a great, sweet, yet hysterical laugh echoed on the room's walls. Getting up and stepping back from the pool, Jolene turned around and ran for Link, who was now having violent spasms again, accompanied with gasps for breath. She steadied him so that he wouldn't hurt himself by hitting himself anywhere and looked back at the pool, on which's surface were now beginning to create ripples, soft, then stronger, until the entire pool shook, and right in front of Jolene's confused look, a blue light amassed, and with a big bang that made Jolene shield her eyes, the room came back to normal.

Or almost.

Opening her eyes, Jolene noticed the woman standing in the pool.

Seeming pretty young, the woman had long green hair that went down until her thighs, spread from in front, blocking the views to her uncovered torso. She simply wore a yellow cloth around her hips, creating a skirt that went down until her ankles. Her lips were curled up in a pretty smile and she was looking at Jolene and Link warmly with her azure eyes.

"Hello Jolene…" she greeted, stepping out of the pool and onto the marble floor.

"How…?"

"Do not utter a word… The Goddesses have heard your pleas. I am the Great Fairy of Courage, and I have come to aid you, as well as the Hero." She smiled at her as she kneeled next to her, being extra careful to cover her perfect nakedness with her hair.

"How… How can you help us? Great Fairy?" Jolene asked her.

"Link has been poisoned by Tektites, am I not correct?" she asked, still smiling.

"If by Tektites, you refer to the red spiders with one eye, then yes. They bit me, and, he used a magic spell to kill them all, but got bitten as well…" she explained. "Then, he took me and we both collapsed in here." She added.

"Ah… He was very wise, whether consciously or unconsciously. For this Great Fairy Fountain, along with two others over the land of Termina, are the only havens remaining untouched by Bellum's evil…" she smiled at her.

"Then… Can you help us…?" she asked again.

"Link has been poisoned fatally. Slowly, the fever caused by the poison will grow to alarming levels and will slowly kill him while making him suffer greatly…" for the first time since Jolene met her, the Great Fairy gave a sad smile, caressing Link's hair. Link leaned into her comforting touch, breathing heavily, face as red as a red Chuchu, arms and legs twitching uncontrollably.

"So how can you help us?" Jolene pressed her, splashing some water on Link's face.

"I will get rid of the poison for you, and I will grant you something afterwards." She smiled as she looked at Jolene once more, then put her palm on Link's heart.

Link stopped convulsing and calmed down, face as serene as if he was sleeping. Jolene would have been convinced he was dead if his face wasn't as red as a red potion or his breathing was irregularly becoming softer.

After a while, the Great Fairy of Courage removed her hand and extended it towards the pool of pure water. She grunted, and something purplish-black came flying out of her palm, flying through the air and landing in the water. The thing hissed in pain as it disintegrated in the Sacred Waters of the Great Fairy.

"There. All the poison is gone. He should wake up now." she smiled as Jolene shed a single tear of joy and bowed her head to her.

"Thank you. Thank you sooo much, Great Fairy." She whispered as a couple more tears ran down her cheeks. Drying them off, she turned to Link who was now stirring.

Link's eyelids fluttered open as he breathed in deep, then he scanned his surroundings.

"Link…?"

Link turned his head weakly to see Jolene, looking at him hopefully.

"Jolene…? Where are we…?" he asked her.

"Welcome to my sanctuary, Hero of Time." It wasn't Jolene's voice that answered. In fact, Link had never heard that voice before, but he felt like he trusted it completely.

Turning his head in the opposite direction, Link saw the Great Fairy of Courage, looking down warmly at him, with a small smile plastered on her face.

"Thank you for saving us, Great Fairy…" he whispered, too weak to talk.

"Here. Let me soothe you." She smiled as she snapped. A fairy came flying through the air and landed on Link's chest. After a moment, it flew away, leaving behind a trail of fine pink dust that settled on Link. He instantly felt his strenght returning to him. Sitting up, he looked at the Great Fairy again.

"Thank you very much, your Greatness." He bowed his head slightly with a smile.

"My pleasure, Hero…" she smiled as she invited them to walk back to the sacred Waters of the pool.

"Let me offer you something else, Hero." She finally said as she stepped into the pool, leaving Link and Jolene on the marble steps. Snapping again, two red pieces of cloth appeared floating next to her. In another snap, they each became a tunic and a set of puffy pants and a sleeveless shirt. Each floated towards its designated person, and they both took the clothes with a quizzical look.

"These heat resistant clothes will protect you from the raging heat of the inferno in the volcano you will venture deep in. Without it, it is impossible to breathe and survive in it. Also, take these." She smiled, making two bottles of fairies appear next to them.

"These fairies will ease your weariness whenever you are on the verge of death. If not, simply uncork the bottle to use them. I hope they will be of use to you, young Hero." She smiled as Link bowed his head and pocketed the two bottles.

"Thank you, Great Fairy of Courage. We are infinitely indebted to you." Link bowed, followed by Jolene.

"Very well. Glad I could help. Now, go free the Maidens, save Termina and Hyrule, and get rid of Bellum once and for all. I wish you luck Hero." She smiled, and with the same hysterical laugh with which she had appeared, she disappeared in the now-calm Sacred Waters.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX…………………XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX **

As soon as Tetra and Linebeck felt the bottom of the ship touching the solid ground, they both opened the eyes they had closed and looked around. They were definitely underwater, seeing the glow of the shimmering light on the surface of the calm waters above them. Looking in front, they realized that the entire temple standing in front of them had been encased in an air bubble.

Stepping out of the red and yellow, Wolfos shaped boat, Tetra and Linebeck scanned the temple's outer appearance. It was a normal, if not ruined temple, with moss hanging from all the broken pillars. It was yellow and white, giving a nice glow, contrasting with the deep blue of the waters.

"Linebeck…" Tetra uttered, eyes widened in amazement before the beautiful temple.

"Yeah?" he asked, eyes still fixed on the shimmering temple.

"I think we found the Light Temple…" she whispered, awed at the reflections the temple was giving on the surrounding waters.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX…………………XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

As soon as the Great Fairy disappeared, the Sacred Water Pool where she had first appeared flickered, and disappeared into thin air.

Instead appeared a trail leading outside.

With one nod, Jolene and Link walked outside. Right after them, the walls closed again. Touching the rock wall to make sure it wasn't an illusion, Link realized it wasn't.

Turning back around, they eyed the magnificent structure in front of them.

Shimmering red rubies covered the magnificent structure of the ruined building. The red stones that the Temple was constructed in seemed to be made of lava itself. The heat, unbearable at first, was soon subdued when Link and Jolene changed into their heat resistant outfits.

The Temple, seeming ominous and inviting at the same time, seemed to invite them inside.

"Jolene…" Link said, still amazed by the shimmering glow of the Temple.

"Yeah…?" she asked him, eyes fixed on the lava-like rubies covering the temple.

"I think we found the Fire Temple…" he whispered, scanning the huge temple, constructed in the volcano, piercing the rocks to enter the mountain and meet the lava flow, creating the column of smoke that came out from behind the amazing structure.

*******************************

**Author Notes:**

**And I think I found my first temple to write about. *sigh...* I really don't feel like it though. Even if I've written the first temple already XD**

**And so, I was wrong, sorry ^^ Last chapter was the longest chapter I'd ever made until now ^^ Dunno about chapter 7, too lazy to check right now XD. This one was average. About 5 700 words, I think.... But for some reason, the AN's add a lot of words, so now it's 6 315 words... -_-;**

**Anyways, please review, like the usual routine, and I haven't decided when I'll post the next chap. Probably on Christmas, as a Christmas gift for y'all ^^ XD (EDIT: I FORGOT! O.O I'M SO SORRY GUYS! I'M GONNA KICK MYSELF FOR IT *kicks her ass so hard she looses feeling* But I promise I'll post the next chapter tomorrow because I forget lots, and because it's Christmas :D So bubye ^^)**

**Anyways, review, and be nice, or the fat old man wearing a copy of Link's red hat with a ball of white clouds at the end won't bring you cookies when he pops up from your toilet bowl on December 28, at 3 o' clock in the morning XDDDDDDDDD Randomness XD**

**SEEYA PEEPS! PLEASE REVIEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! :DDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDD**


	7. I'm Running Around: Light Temple

**Author Notes:**

**As promised, a new chapter for Christmas, even though I posted the last chapter yesterday XD. So... Yeah... ENJOY AND REVIEW! PS: Merry christmas :D**

***********************************

As soon as they stepped in, Linebeck and Tetra felt pure light coursing through them, overpowering their soul and flooding their minds. Illuminated, they both scanned the main hall of the dungeon.

A crystal chandelier was hanging on the top of the ceiling, taking the entire space of the ceiling. Leaning a bit backwards, Tetra spotted a second floor that turned around the chandelier. Then, the walls were all white, but covered in moss, yet glowing despite that fact. A ruined, but shining fountain carved in crystal flowed in the middle of the room. There were four doors. Two were locked in chains, one small, and another bigger with a bigger yellow lock on it. The other one has bars over it, and the only one left was open.

"Well, guess we'd better get going…" Tetra broke the silence, her voice echoing through the crystalline walls of the pure Temple. Tetra had no idea how evil could have taken over such a pure temple, but they started walking towards the open door nonetheless.

Closing the door behind them, they ended up in a new room, far more different than the other. The pure white walls were still there, but there were rotating platforms leading to a chest on the far side.

Stepping in, metal bars locked over the door they had just come through from. Gasping, Tetra rushed back to the bars and tried moving them, but to no avail, the bars didn't budge. Turning back around and looking in front again, she noticed that the platform could safely carry her to the other side.

"Come on, let's go." She said with a wave as she took a wind up and jumped over an endless pit and onto the first rotating platform.

The platform moved a little, and Tetra held on until it was done.

"Come on!" she encouraged Linebeck with a smile as she winded up and jumped on the next one, then the next one, and so on, until the end.

Not long after, Linebeck landed next to her on the last, steady stone platform where the chest was located.

"Typical pirating." She chuckled as she kicked the chest with her foot.

Linebeck chuckled as he got close to see what was inside. Tetra put her hand inside the chest and brought out a key. As soon as she took it out, the locked door on the other side unlocked again.

"Humm… I got a key…" she said, turning around and showing it to Linebeck.

"Well, seems like it goes in one of the locks back at the main room." He noticed as Tetra nodded in agreement and pocketed the key, turning around, and jumping across the gaps again until the other side. Waiting for Linebeck, they soon opened the door and stepped back into the main room again.

Heading for the bigger yellow lock, Tetra noticed something obvious.

"Err... I don't think the key will fit in the big lock. Let's try the smaller one." She chuckled as she turned around and inserted the key into he smaller lock on the door next to the big locked one.

The lock unlocked, and fell to the ground, chains and all. With a rattling sound, the chains disintegrated. Tetra raised a brow at this, then opened the door, Linebeck coming in after her.

The next room was a puzzle, apparently. There was a door locked with bars at the other end of the room, and in the middle was a lowered part of the ground that sank into the marble of the floor, drawing the faint outlines of a large, but shallow arena.

In the middle were located six pieces of the apparent puzzle, three triangle rocks and three circle rocks.

"Apparently, we have to move these rocks to fit the design of the pattern of those rocks we pulled out. The pattern is bound to mean something…" Tetra noticed as they both nodded in agreement and headed for the pieces.

Slowly moving them, Linebeck and Tetra realized that the triangle pieces only moved sideways, and the circle pieces could only be rolled forward and sideways, never diagonally.

First pushing the triangles into their own spaces, they finally put them with their summits facing each other. Then, pulling the first circular piece into place, they got to the two others.

About five minutes later, Tetra pushed the last circular piece into the slot reserved for it and pulled back.

With a yellow glowing light, the pieces sank into the ground, revealing the pattern embedded in the ground. When the glow subdued, the bars on the door lifted, and a chest appeared. Cocking his head, Linebeck headed for the chest and opened it. Tetra soon joined him to see what he had found.

"SWEET! A COMPASS!" he exclaimed, showing Tetra the circular instrument whose needle was moving slightly.

"What does it do…?" she asked him.

"Here. Give me Astrid's map." He grinned as Tetra shrugged and pulled out the map.

As soon as Linebeck opened it, they realized the map had changed. It now illustrated the floors and the rooms of the dungeon they were in. Linebeck put the compass in the little slot reserved for it at the border of the map. For a second, everything was still the same, then, little yellow dots flickered onto the surface of the worn and used map. A skull head appeared in a room adjacent to the main room.

Linebeck grinned as Tetra eyed the little yellow dots, realizing they were really treasure chests.

"COOL! THIS THING SHOWS US WHERE THE TREASURE CHESTS ARE??" she exclaimed.

"Yeah!" he chuckled as Tetra smiled and took the map back, keeping the compass in its slot. Turning towards the unbarred door, they opened it and stepped in.

The next room was very plain. Only seven pillars stood in the centre of the room, six surrounding a seventh in the middle.

Tetra and Linebeck carefully walked towards the pillars, scanning the empty room. On the far side of the room was a barred door. As soon as they stepped into the ring of light that shone over the pillars, the door they came in through barred itself, and a monkey dropped from the ceiling onto one of the pillars.

"What the hell? A monkey?" Linebeck chuckled sarcastically as the monkey turned around and slapped his own butt.

"DID THAT MONKEY JUST GIVE ME THE ASS?" Linebeck yelled after the monkey who cackled and jumped onto another pillar. Putting its hand up, the monkey winded up and threw something at Linebeck. Before he had time to identify it, the boomerang the monkey was carrying slammed into his head, knocking him unconscious.

"Yeah right! A monkey slammed Linebeck unconscious?" Tetra couldn't help but laugh at that as the monkey growled and threw its boomerang at her.

Quickly diving out of the way, she looked behind and avoided the weapon that was coming back at her.

"Is that how you wanna play, big guy? Hunh? Is that it?" she taunted as she ran closer to the pillar the monkey was on and she kicked it.

The hollow wood of the pillar was fairly easy to kick, and the monkey lost balance, falling forward onto the ground, face first, giving his back and oversized red butt to Tetra. She growled in disgust, then drew her scimitars and slashed at the monkey's butt.

The monkey howled in pain at it raised its back in pain, unable to move since it was still dazed by his face-first fall. Tetra attacked again, finally inserting her scimitar into the dark monkey's back.

Black blood oozed out, proving even more that the monkey was a dark monster, and the corpse of the dark creature disappeared in ashes, blown away by the wind. Only the boomerang remained, loosing its previous black aura and becoming a yellow aura.

Tetra bent down and grabbed it, eyeing it suspiciously. As soon as her fingers made contact with the boomerang, a voice rang in her head.

"_Well done, wielder of Nayru's essence… You have completed your first challenge. Now, you must find a way to your second challenge, which is waiting for you behind the big lock in the main room. I, the Fairy of Winds, will help you find the keys, defeat your final challenge for this temple and save the Maiden of Light. Use me well, bearer of Nayru…"_

And before she knew it, the boomerang's message stopped. She cocked her head, then pocketed the weapon and headed for Linebeck.

Opening a bottle of water over his face, she simply giggled as Linebeck shot up and coughed, eliminating the water he had swallowed.

"Damn monkey…" he mumbled.

"Don't worry, I defeated him." She smiled sweetly, showing him the freed boomerang.

"Great. At least fat ass is gone." He grinned as he got up and stretched, then waited for Tetra's signal.

"Well, we can always try and find a way out of here… Apparently, the last door won't open again…" she sighed, looking at the two barred doors in the room.

"Try hitting that windmill with your boomerang then…" Linebeck suggested, pointing at an almost invisible little windmill in a hole in the wall, above the next door.

Tetra nodded and took out the boomerang, locking onto the little windmill. When she had winded up enough power, she let the boomerang go and threw it at the little leaver mill. The mill reacted quickly, turning with the sudden gust of wind, and opening the bars that locked the door under it. With a smile of satisfaction, Tetra caught the returning boomerang and headed for the open door, soon followed by Linebeck.

As the door closed, they eyed the weird structure in front of them. There was a sun on the wall, just like five more around it and there was a mirror in the centre of the room. Sunlight shone on the mirror, giving it a pure reflection on the wall.

"It's obviously something with the sunlight and the suns…" Linebeck shrugged.

"Maybe we have to use the mirror to deflect the sunlight onto the suns to open that door." Tetra suggested. With an agreeing nod from Linebeck, she advanced to the mirror and turned it to the first sun. The sun suddenly burned out, leaving Tetra and Linebeck to wonder what they had done wrong. Without a second warning though, something fell over Tetra, pinning her on the floor.

"Linebeck!" she screamed in horror, looking up to see what held her captive. She was horrified to see a monster like she had never seen before.

It was a dark hand with ominous pattern over it. Its long nails were digging into he ground and its palm held Tetra securely against the ground.

"I got it!" he yelled as he drew out his twin daggers and attacked the hand. The hand suddenly separated into here smaller ones. Two of them held Tetra's arms down while the other one attacked Linebeck.

Linebeck quickly slashed through it as he got close to the other two holding Tetra down.

One of them jumped at him, leaving one of Tetra's hands free. She instantly took advantage of it and drew her right scimitar, plunging it quickly into the one holding her left arm down. Getting up, she realized that Linebeck had gotten rid of his' already.

"Well, that was a trap, I guess, since the door didn't open yet…" Linebeck noticed.

"Should I try again?" Tetra asked him.

"Go ahead. But stay on your guard this time. If the sun burns out again, keep moving." He warned her.

"Kay…" she replied, moving the mirror one space further.

This time, the mirror didn't burn out. Instead, it gave out a full grin, making its rays move circularly around it, and the bars on the door unlocked.

"There. Simple as that!" Tetra said proudly as she opened the door and entered the next room, followed by Linebeck.

The next room had a big abyss with a ledge on the other side. Looking around for a while, Tetra and Linebeck realized they had missed something, since no switches, or suns, or leaver mills were visible.

"Err… Maybe we missed something back at the last room…?" Tetra suggested as Linebeck sighed and opened the door, stepping back into the mirror room.

The two used suns were still gone, one of them still smiling creepily at them.

"Try turning the mirrors again." Linebeck suggested as Tetra nodded and turned. As soon as she did so, the sun burned out.

"Watch out!" she yelled, quickly diving out of the way. Two seconds later, a similar hand dropped over the place where she was a few seconds ago.

Giving out a girlish battle cry, tetra attacked the hand. As soon as her blade split it into two pieces, the pieces reformed into three little hands.

Not completely prepared for it, one hand caught Tetra off guard by jumping over her chest and gripping her chest where her heart was located. Tetra immediately froze, eyes glazing over.

"Tetra!" Linebeck yelled, worried, when Tetra dropped her scimitar. He killed the two other hands that were rushing for him, and ran for Tetra.

When he got in front of her, he saw the little hand gripping her chest while her limbs trembled. With one swing, he got rid of it as Tetra fell down, limp.

He quickly sheathed his twin daggers and kneeled next to her.

"You okay?" he asked her, shaking her a bit. She slightly opened her eyes and looked ta him, then breathed deep and closed them again.

"Feeling…so… weak…" she whispered.

"It drains energy, doesn't it…?" he asked her, finally understanding the visually harmless hands' purposes.

"I…think so…" she whispered again.

"Don't worry. I think I have a potion somewhere here…" he said, putting her down, then fumbling through his pockets to try and find that half-filled bottle of red potion he always carried around him.

Taking it out, he put Tetra up in a sitting position, pushing the bottle over her dry lips. As she drank the potion, which most of trickled down her chin and sides of her mouth, she gradually opened her eyes, and in the end, pushed herself out of Linebeck's grip, like a withering flower receiving water and coming back to life.

"Thanks." She said as she stood up and helped him up.

"Well, one more left. Better use it…" he noticed, pointing at the last sun.

"Hope it's not a trap too…" she mumbled, grunting as she made a bigger effort to turn the mirror in her current state of shock and physical recovery.

The sunlight finally reflected on the last sun, illuminating it for a moment, then, the sun's face spread into a wide grin. Tetra and Linebeck sighed in relief, then looked around, waiting for a consequence.

Nothing happened.

"Maybe it's in the next room?" Linebeck suggested.

"Okay. Let's go check." Tetra said in an annoyed tone. Already, dungeons were boring the hell out of her. And, if she still had two to do after this, she didn't know if she could make it. She sighed as she opened the door and went in with Linebeck following her every move.

Inside, the abyss and the chest on the other side were still there. Though, it seemed like something had changed. Suddenly feeling the irresistible envy to look under her feet, Tetra noticed that the previously rocky cliff she was standing on had become transparent like glass.

Thinking she had the concept, she carefully stepped forward, expecting to fall down the abyss. Instead, she felt the bottom of her foot safely touching a flat surface. Opening her eyes, she saw she was stepping in midair.

Stepping back to Linebeck, she looked around, finally spotting a switch behind them.

"There's the switch!" she smiled as she took out her boomerang and aimed it, winding up the Fairy of Winds' power into it. Then, releasing her gust of wind, she hit the switch and caught the boomerang that came back. Looking back at the abyss, she saw a few parts lighting up, like trying to show her…

"Take out the map." She suddenly said. Linebeck raised a brow quizzically, then complied, pulling out the map and unrolling it. He was surprised to see that where the abyss stood, was drawn a checkerboard on the map.

"Look at where the squares will light up when I hit the switch and draw the path. It's the path to the other side." Tetra said as she winded up her boomerang again and threw it at the switch, catching it at it came back. Linebeck uncapped the pen and waited until the squares started lighting up before he marked the way to the other side.

Once done, he handed the map to Tetra.

"Get to the other side while following this pattern." He said, showing her the line he drew across the abyss.

"Thanks. Let's hope you saw right." She joked as she stepped on the first square noted by Linebeck.

Carefully walking across, she had almost made it when she took a wrong turn and her foot met air, truly air this time. She screamed as she lost her balance and fell into the abyss.

"TETRA!" Linebeck yelled as he saw her loose her footing.

Grunting, she tried pulling herself up, seeing as she only held on with one hand, which was slipping anyways. Making one more effort, she suddenly brought her other arm up and put the map on the invisible floor, using her hand to grip the border and try to pull herself up.

"Come help me!" she screamed.

"I can't! I don't know where to step!" he panicked.

"Okay, wait. I can do this!" she encouraged herself as she started pulling herself up.

Trembling with all her limbs, she tried pulling herself back up, despite the lack of muscles in her body.

Grunting in pain, she threw her hand forward in a desperate attempt to grip something, but only resulted into letting go.

With both hands.

Screaming of fear, she only heard Linebeck calling her name, and saw the ceiling getting further away from her as she felt the wind whipping her face while she fell.

All she could think about was how much the impact was gonna hurt.

If there WAS an impact in the first place…

---

Maybe after ten minutes of seemingly eternal falling, Tetra finally distinguished the bottom. So this abyss HAD a bottom after all…

"Oh crap… It HAS a bottom…" she cursed out loud as she realized she'd been falling from very high up.

"Got one shot at this…." She breathed in deep, putting her hands together. Saying something in ancient Hylian, she felt her protective bubble coming back. With the nearing floor, he only hoped she could make it in time.

As she said the last word of the spell, the barrier hit the floor, shattering, absorbing most of the impact's force, but still hitting her hard. She screamed again, dropping to the floor with a sickening crack. As she tried pushing herself up, she dropped, clutching her left wrist. Tears streamed down her face as she tried subduing the pain.

Taking deep breaths to try and forget the pain of her probably broken wrist, she looked around and scanned the new room she was in.

The first thing she noticed was the big pool of purple substance bubbling over at least half the large room. There was a locked door behind her. Asides that, moss ran over all the corners of the room.

Slowly getting up, gritting her teeth in pain, she walked towards the bubbling pit of purple stuff to check what it was. Carefully dipping the tip of her finger into it, she quickly redrew it before the (turns-out) acid burned through her skin.

Getting away from the dangerous acid pit, she looked around. Apparently, she needed to do something since there were no exits but the locked door.

Only, she didn't know that something, a single eye, was watching her every move from under the acid. Deciding that she was too much of a threat to it, the monster suddenly shook the acid, and burst out.

Tetra quickly turned around and saw the twenty foot tall tentacle with a single eye in its large jaws shooting out of the acid pit, spraying the dangerous substance everywhere. She barely had time to cast a weak Nayru's Love before the acid impacted and made holes in the shield. She gasped and drew back a step at least not feeling the pain in her wrist anymore.

Testing it, she realized that Nayru's Love had somehow fixed it. She smiled, then drew her scimitars.

Looking at the situation, she realized that her weapons wouldn't be much of help right now. Growling, then sheathing them again, she took out her boomerang. Spotting a bomb plant on the other side of the room, she smiled, and almost as on reflex, she winded up her boomerang, and threw it at the bomb plant.

The boomerang headed for the bomb plant, and picked it up. Tetra's Triforce awakened, blinking harshly in the semi-darkness. She used its power to control the boomerang, making it pick the bomb up and throw it into the tentacle's mouth, where its eye, apparently its weak spot, was located.

As soon as the bomb exploded in the monster's jaws, acid sprayed out from the eye that was now damaged harshly. Shrieking in pain, the monster wobbled, then fell onto solid ground, giving its eye out to Tetra. She didn't waste a second and drew out her scimitars, quickly jumping and slashing at the exposed eye.

As she slashed one last time, the monster shrieked again, and shot up. It wiggled while throwing toxic acid everywhere. Tetra shielded herself behind a random pillar as she waited for the monster to stop thrashing. When it finally froze over, it exploded. With the ring of power the explosion created, Tetra fell to the ground in pain and weariness. Her wrist started aching again as her barrier disappeared for good.

"Guess it only fixed it temporarily…" she muttered as she felt her wrist screaming in agony. Gritting her teeth in pain, she faintly heard a door being opened behind her.

"TETRA!"

Tetra turned around, wondering if she was dreaming. The pain in her wrist proved otherwise.

"Linebeck!" she yelled as she got up, supporting her wrist and ran towards him.

As soon as Linebeck got close enough, he drew her into a hug, making her yelp in pain.

"You okay? I was so worried!" he said, eyeing her wrist.

"Well, asides the apparently broken wrist, I'm fine." She grinned through her pained face.

"What happened?" he asked her.

"Well, when I fell, after a long time, I cast Nayru's Love and only broke my wrist when I landed here. I think this was the dungeon's boss's lair, since I just defeated that big ugly thing here." She grinned, briefly explaining.

"Glad you're okay. Now let's go get that Maiden and see if she can fix your wrist." He suggested, eyeing her distorted wrist.

"Good idea…" she whispered in a strained voice as they walked towards the acid pit. As soon as they got to the edge, the acid quickly drained through a hole in the floor, leaving on the other side an unlocked, majestic door. As they strode through the previously filled with acid pit, the scenery started changing.

When they finally got to the other side, the room had completely changed. All the vines and moss had disappeared. Instead were left marble sculptures, shining sculptures, pure glass windows and crystals chandeliers. Tetra smiled, deducting that the curse had been lifted. With a smile despite her pain, she opened the door and entered the next room, the last one, she hoped.

As they stepped in, Tetra's memories soon clouded her mind. She remembered this room as the room where she had found the Maiden of Light. Waterfalls lined the walls, blue tiles made the floor, and right in the middle, encased in a barrier of yellow magic, stood the Maiden of Light, arms crossed over her chest, eyes closed.

Linebeck and Tetra nodded, then ran for the Maiden. As soon as they got close, Tetra's Triforce reacted to her. She slowly opened her eyes, looking at them with a serene smile through her magical barrier.

Soon, her barrier shattered with the sheer force of Tetra's Triforce.

The Maiden giggled and floated down to the ground. Like on the poster, Tetra and Linebeck could see her long blond hair tied up in a high ponytail on her head. Her sleeveless top stuck to her skin, lining out her features. Her yellow skirt swished around her knees, bearing white patterns at the bottom.

"Welcome to my Sanctuary, Carrier of the Triforce and Scourers of Seas." She bowed her head, then looked back up at them and smiled.

"I shall introduce myself." She smiled. "I am Sillia, Maiden of Light, protector of this here Light Temple." She bowed again.

"Glad to make your acquaintance, Sillia." Tetra bowed, soon followed by Linebeck.

"Heroes. Thank you for freeing me. I believe my sister Astrid has shown you where to find my other sisters trapped in Hyrule. I hope you will make it in time to save them. Please, Bellum must not be allowed to be set free." She told them.

"Yes. We will now go and free the nearest Maiden from here. I'm pretty sure our companions in Termina have freed their first Maiden as well." Tetra said.

"Very well. I shall join my sister, Astrid, to be safe from Bellum's wrath. Until then, I wish you luck. You may keep the weapon you acquired. It might be of use in your quest." She said, stepping backwards a step.

"Thank you, Maiden Sillia." Linebeck said as she smiled sweetly at them.

"My best wishes to you all. I wish you luck in your quest, and now, I bid you farewell." The Maiden bowed one last time, and with one last smile, she disappeared in a bright yellow glow that required Linebeck and Tetra to shield their eyes. When they opened their eyes, the Maiden was not there anymore.

"Well, one Maiden down, two to go." Tetra said as a portal similar to the one they had taken to come down into the water appeared on the other side of the room.

"Yup! Now, we can open a conversation with them and see how they are fairing. I'm sure they freed their own Maiden as well by now." Linebeck smiled.

"I'm sure." She smiled as they both stepped into the bright light.

The flames of yellow light licked their clothes and bodies as they both disintegrated, and with one last look at the freed Temple of Light, they returned to the surface.

**********************************

**Author Notes:**

**YAYY! FIRST MAIDEN IS DONE! Next chap? Temple of FIYAAAAH! XDYou don't how much temples are pains in the ass to write... Gah... I really don't feel like writing it now ^^ XD**

**But oh well. Merry Christmas to you all! And next chapter will be up on New Year's day, since I need time to type ^^ So seeya then :D PLEASE REVIEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEW!!!!!!!!!!**


	8. But There's No Place To Hide:Fire Temple

**Author Notes:**

**Not much to say but Happy New Year everyone :D If you haven't done it before, check my New Year's fic, 12 Days of New Year ^_^ It's my best fic ever! :D Also, just a little note to some anonymous reviewer who told me that it would've been better if Link and Tetra were younger, then I'll tell you that this fic is the third volume of a trilogy, and the first one had the two kids younger in them. It's called He's a Pirate ^_^**

**Anyways, enjoy this extra long chapter :D BYE!**

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As soon as Jolene and Link stepped into the fiery temple, they became aware of the heat, of course. The raging volcano's heat was even perceptible under their heat resisting clothes.

"It's hot." Jolene stated. With the sound of the churning lava under the bridge on which they were stepping, Link heard something else.

"I'm hot?" he asked her incredulously as she closed her mouth in an attempt to muffle a laugh. "I'm telling Tetra you're hitting on me." Link chuckled as he turned around and started walking across the bridge.

"Come on. Take a joke, man!" Jolene soon ran after him as they safely made it across, being met with the main hall constructed in the heart of the fiery temple, inside the volcano.

There were three doors in the main hall. One had locked bars over it, the other one had a lock and chains over it, and the third one had a giant, red lock with a symbol resembling a lick of flame on it.

There was a switch in the very middle.

"Step on that switch, will you?" Jolene pointed at the switch. Link shrugged and walked to the switch, stepping on it. The switch didn't even budge.

"Grr… Seems like it's rusted…" he gritted his teeth, jumping up and down on it.

"Here, try this." Jolene said as she went to the sides and took a chunk of a large rock, unable to lift it, rolling it to Link's side. He chuckled and pushed the rock over the switch. The switch bounced a little, but didn't step in.

"COME ON! WHAT THE HELL DO WE HAVE TO DO TO GET THIS SWITCH DOWN!?" Jolene yelled.

"Well, you're gonna help too." Link chuckled as he carefully sat over the rock. The switch went in a little further. "Come on." He smiled as Jolene sighed, then walked over and sat in front of him, on the rock.

"On three, we jump up, okay?" he said. Jolene nodded, understanding.

"One…" they both tensed up. "Two…" pushing their energy into their legs, they got ready to jump.

"THREE!" he exclaimed, pushing himself up. Jolene did the same. At the same time, they landed back on the rock, pushing it down. Finally, there was a loud crunching noise, and the switch went in. The door with locks on it lifted.

"Finally! Thank the Goddesses!" Jolene raised her hands to the sky while Link reminded himself to land on his feet next time, eyes twitching in pain.

"Let's go…" he whispered, voice dry and hoarse. Jolene looked back at him, and seeing where he was holding in pain, she fell to the ground, laughing.

"Come on…" he looked down at her, annoyed, as he turned around and opened the unlocked door.

"WAIT!" she yelled, still laughing, as she ran in after him.

As soon as they both stepped in, the bars locked over them. Link and Jolene were startled at first, but then eyed the room. It was a basic room, with a pool of lava on the far side, and pots next to it. The next door was beyond the pool of lava.

Out of nowhere, two Tektites burst out of the pool of lava that was on the far side of the room.

Link growled at their sight, and drew out his sword, soon imitated by Jolene who drew out her scimitars.

"Not this time, buster!" he grinned as his blade slashed through the spider. With a pained screech, the Tektite disappeared in flames. Soon after, the Tektite Jolene attacked did the same.

"Hah." She grinned, sheathing her scimitars as she headed for Link.

"Err… Aren't the bars supposed to unlock, or something?" Link noticed.

"Maybe there is something else to do here?" Jolene suggested. As if on cue, a dozen more Tektites splashed out of the lava and headed for them, scanning the astounded humans with their single eye.

"Oh no! Not them again!" Link rolled his eyes as he drew out his sword, soon imitated by Jolene and her scimitars. With a battle cry, he jumped into the incoming cloud of fiery spider monsters, killing one already.

Jolene grunted, then did the same, swinging her scimitar in anger for the last time they met with Tektites.

"This is revenge for before!" she grinned evilly as she killed a couple, proceeding without any troubles through the mob of monsters.

Soon after, she and Link got under and out from the mob, finally killing the last one together, inserting their weapons simultaneously in the screeching and thrashing spider. Twisting with a sadistic grin, Jolene watched until the spider disappeared in flames. Link simply rolled his eyes and drew back his sword, sheathing it.

Together, they strolled until the lava pool.

"So… Door's on the other side… How do we get there?" Jolene asked.

"Don't know. What's in the pots?" Link asked her.

Dipping her finger in a pot and tasting it, she turned back to Link.

"Just water…" she concluded.

"Well, maybe there's something under the pots… I don't know." He said as he grabbed a pot and threw it into the lava pool.

There was some smoke and steam, but in the end, when the fog cleared up, a solidified platform stood floating on the lava.

"That's against the laws of physics." Jolene noticed.

"Who cares? Jump before it disappears." Link grinned until his ears as he jumped onto the platform, wobbling as the magma under his feet moved, then jumped to the other side. Jolene soon landed next to him, right as the platform refused with the magma, becoming liquid rock.

"Well, that was close…" Jolene chuckled as she stepped away from the lava, following Link into the door in front of them.

When they entered, the first thing they noticed were the few columns of lava that erupted from the ocean of lava. Guessing they must've reached the bottom of the volcano, where the lava gathered, they carefully stepped over onto the safe platform in front of them.

Then, carefully, they looked at the room. It was basically platforms and bridges suspended everywhere over the massive ocean of lava. There were a few columns to avoid, but asides that, the coast was clear. Or almost.

Hearing a screeching right next to their ears, Link and Jolene turned around and got face to face with a bat, literally on FIRE!

"Fire Keese!" Jolene exclaimed as she ducked when the bat came sailing across the air where she was before.

Link drew out his sword and slashed at the Keese, loosing his balance. He tripped right as his blade sliced through the Keese. Falling forward off of the platform, he barely held on with one hand to the scorching rocks of the platform. His fingers and palm were burning, stinging his hand. He grunted as he tried getting back up. Though, the heat of the almost molten rocks finally got unbearable as his fingers slipped and he let go.

"GOTCHA!"

Link opened the eyes he had decided to close before dying, and realized he hadn't fallen yet. On top of the platform, Jolene held him by his hand and struggled to pull him back up. Grunting, Lin sheathed his sword and pulled himself back up, helped by Jolene.

"Thanks." He said as he finally crumpled to the ground, panting for breath. Jolene fell next to him, doing the same.

"Anytime. I couldn't bear the loss of my bestest friend and sword fighting dummy, now could I?" she grinned sarcastically as she pulled herself and Link up. Dusting themselves off, they soon stepped off the dangerous platform and onto a solider ground, as in a ledge on the side.

Walking past the ledge and over a bridge, they got to a hole in the wall blocked by a bomb flower behind the rock blocking it.

"We can't reach it." Jolene said for him as they both eyed the unreachable bomb flower.

"Jolene… Can you shoot arrows?" Link suddenly asked her.

"Yeah, why?" she asked him, looking at him questioningly. He was simply eyeing the bomb flower. It seemed close enough to the sides…

"Here." He said, pulling out his bow and two arrows. "I'll hold you securely to the sides of this platform. You shoot the flower." He smiled as he pulled out a long piece of sturdy rope.

"Why meeee?" she objected.

"Because you're lighter, and I won't drop you." He simply replied, tying the rope securely with an 8-knot on her waist.

Then, she grabbed the arrows Link was giving her and looked back at the bomb flower. It seemed simple enough. Making sure Link was holding the rope securely, she gritted her teeth in fear and stepped over the edge, pushing her feet against the side of the platform while pushing herself down.

Screaming as she fell into her position, she realized Link was holding her by the rope he had tied securely around her waist. Calming down with deep breaths, she pulled out the bow and arrows Link had given her, and, with shaky hands, she fitted the first one.

Then, she pulled back the bow, trying to concentrate as much as possible in her falling position. With a grunt, she finally set her aim and fired.

Her trembling hands slightly changed the course of the arrow, making it pass next to the bomb plant, grazing it, but not enough to set it alight.

"Try again!" Link encouraged her, grunting to keep pulling on the rope sustaining her. Her life was literally in his hands, and he wouldn't literally as well as figuratively let go.

"Are you sure this isn't a trick to kill me?" she asked in a trembling voice, looking down at the churning magma a few feet below her.

"Nope! Keep trying! I'm sure you can do it!" Link encouraged her, making an extra effort to pull her up a little to show her he wouldn't let go.

"Okay." She finally agreed, shakily pulling out the second arrow Link had given her.

Fitting it, she aimed it, and with a deep breath, she closed her eyes and fired.

Both young adults held their breaths as the arrow sailed through the air, heading straight for the bomb plant. Time slowed down as the arrow flew past the bomb flower's lighting string, just grazing it again, making a spark, but not lighting it.

"NO!" Jolene shrieked, letting a few tears flow down her cheeks.

"NOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!" she yelled, her voice echoing through the volcano. The spark suddenly lit up, trailing down into the bomb.

Both astonished, they stood frozen for a moment, then, realizing the bomb's impact could hit Jolene too, Link quickly grunted as he pulled her up form the sides. She scaled the side, worriedly eyeing the spark that entered the flower.

"DUCK!" she yelled as she finally got up and pushed Link over, sending them both toppling to the ground.

There was a loud boom, then, no more sounds. Lifting themselves up, they saw the boulder was cleared.

Smiling despite the great fear she had gotten a few seconds ago, Jolene calmed herself down, taking deep breaths as Link put his hands around her waist and pulled her back upon her feet.

"Wow! Jolene, that was amazing!" Link exclaimed as she opened her eyes and dusted her up.

"Thanks. Couldn't have done it without you." She grinned, all traces of fear and tears gone from her face.

"Welcome. Now let's proceed, shall we?" he sarcastically said, courteously bowing before Jolene, who giggled and walked into he uncovered passage.

Weirdly enough, the passage lead outside. They both took a moment to scan it and breathe in the fresh air that was missing inside the volcano.

Walking towards the top, they noticed the poles that stuck out horizontally on top of them, but ignored them, not knowing what they were. Finally getting to the top of the stairs they were climbing, they heard a big rumbling sound. Turning around to the source of the sound, they spotted the stairs that they had climbed were rumbling. With a second rumble, they all fell down into the nothingness below.

"Great…" Link sarcastically muttered as Jolene spotted an almost inconspicuous ladder leading upwards.

"Hey! Let's scale this thing. It leads up the mountain." She said, pointing at the ladder, and, not waiting for his response, she grabbed the first step and started moving up.

Link sighed, then took the bars below her and started scaling the ladder. At one point, around the middle, Jolene stopped, almost making Link bump into her.

"What's with the hold-up?" he chuckled.

"I don't know why there is a burnt part of the ladder. Can you guess?" she asked him. He shrugged and looked up, trying to spot what she was pointing at. Taking account his lower position compared to Jolene, he could get a better view, and his eyes widened in horror when he saw a hole in the wall, right in front of where Jolene was pointing at, with something orangish red churning in it, ready to explode.

"Jolene! FALL!" he screamed as he grabbed her ankle and jumped off, pulling her down. Surprised by his actions, she let go and fell along with him, screaming in surprise.

As soon as Link landed on his stomach, a loud crack echoed in the outside of the mountain, followed by Link's cry of pain. Jolene quickly shook her head to clear up the blurriness and looked upwards when she heard a splashing sound.

Her eyes met an orange, gooey liquid that erupted horizontally from the wall where the ladder was located. Immediately understanding why Link had pulled her down, she gasped and turned around to him.

He was laying on the ground, limp, face turned away form her. She could've sworn he was dead if it wasn't for the horrible shaking and shivering his entire body was going through. She gasped and staggered to him under the effect of surprise and worry.

As soon as she touched him to turn him around, he screamed again. She quickly turned around him to get his face in sight. And she did.

He was terribly pale, and the ground in front of his mouth was covered in a red puddle. The trail of blood leading down from the side of his mouth proved what it was made of. His cheeks were stained with tears, and he was gritting his teeth to avoid crying out in pain again.

"Link! Goddess dammit, what the hell happened???" she shrieked, looking for any signs of the problem. Her eyes wandered down from his face, until his chest, where she identified it.

His chest was the problem. It was distorted and the entire front of his shirt was dripping in red, blooming from the distorted point.

"LINK!" she screamed, trying to find a way to help him.

He coughed up some blood, weakly muttering something. Jolene got closer, putting her ear right next to his mouth to hear. He was breathing heavily, as if having trouble, but that's not what she hoped to deduce.

"Fairy…Bottle…Pouch…"

She only caught those words, but they were already enough to tell her what to do. In an immeasurable gentleness that didn't define her, she carefully put her hand in one of his magic pouches and fumbled through them, making sure not to move Link too much, until her fingers finally met something glassy and smooth, cool and nice to the touch.

She smiled, pulling it out. She first looked at the pink ball flying inside the bottle, but then put the bottle upside down over Link's distorted chest, uncorking it.

The pink ball hesitated, and Jolene toyed with the idea of yelling at it or shaking it out of the bottle, but left it alone as it gently floated out of the bottle and landed on Link's chest. Link shuddered in pain, but didn't scream, mostly because its weight was nothing to hurt him.

The fairy scanned Link's problem for a moment, then giggled. It was the purest and most joyful giggle Jolene had ever heard, and after giggling, the fairy floated up, and started circling around Link.

Link first moaned in pain, refusing to scream, but then gave up as his chest started taking back its normal form and yelled out in pain. Soon though, his screaming subsided, and his chest was back to normal, if not heavily stained by blood. The fairy flew back on his cheek, panting. Then, with another giggle, she gently kissed the tip of his nose and disappeared in a shower of pink dust.

Link smiled, despite the pain he had felt during his healing session. He closed his eyes for a second, trying to adapt to his healed ribs.

"Link?" Jolene asked worriedly.

"Hmm?" he asked her, turning his head in her direction.

"What the hell happened to you!?" she screamed. "I was worried!" she grabbed his collar and glared with a mixture of anger and worry, as well as relief in her eyes.

"Whoa! Relax! Let go before you break my ribs again!" he chuckled. Jolene put him down and calmed a little, before asking him again.

"So what happened?" she asked.

"Well, I don't really know. All I know is that I fell on my chest harshly, and broke a rib that dislocated and punctured the bottom part of one of my lungs. I got trouble breathing, and as I moved a little, the rib pierced part of my skin and made a wound there." he explained, pointing at the red spot on his shirt.

"Ah…Good to know…" she remarked, turning around to avert her eyes from his chest.

"You asked for it." He chuckled as he pushed himself off the ground with a grimace, but quickly tightened up again.

"So…How're we gonna get up there now?" she asked, motioning at the top platform that stood over the dangerous ladder.

"Well, I don't see any other way than to climb whenever that column isn't firing at us…" Link sighed as he scratched his head, looking at the geyser of flames that erupted, covering the middle of the ladder in flames that quickly went out because the ladder was made of metal.

"I say you go first this time…" Jolene said, shaking a little to rub off the feeling of an unusual cold crawling over her skin every time she narrowly escaped a danger, either her, or her friends.

"Well then." Link huffed sarcastically, sticking his nose up in the air as he headed for the ladder.

"All I can say is, climb quickly." He grinned as he patiently waited for the eruption to stop, then quickly started scaling the ladder once more. Jolene closely followed him, and they both made it up, this time, avoiding the magma that erupted right after Jolene stepped out of range form the blast.

Helping her up on the ledge, Link looked around. The next area was a closed area, kinda like a fighting ring. There was a cage at the far side, with bars of wood, carved in the rock of the mountain.

Stepping inside the entrance to the ring, Link expected something abnormal to happen. And it did just that as the barrier behind them slammed shut as soon as they entered the ring. There was a weird cackling sound in the air, and the two pirates looked up, very astonished to see a colourful bird carrying a Moblin, at least twice its size, and weight too, apparently, as the bird dropped the Moblin on the arena and flew away.

The Moblin landed with a thud, and roared at the two pirates, who immediately drew their weapons and lunged together. The Moblin raised its weapon, countering the two scimitars Jolene slammed over them. Then, turning around with a spin attack, he countered Link's jump attack, sending the eighteen year old flying back, slamming into a nearby wall and slumping to the ground, grunting in pain.

Jolene gasped, but paid no further attention to Link, who was now staggering back to his feet. Instead, she concentrated on her foe, which was apparently smarter than he let on to believe.

Grunting, the Moblin turned around, sensing Jolene's activity. He quickly raised his staff and blocked one of Jolene's scimitars. The other slipped under the staff and slashed across the beast's chest. The beast yelled in pain as its black blood shot out of its wound. Jolene backflipped away to avoid getting some over her. A sword stuck through the Moblin's stomach ended its miserable life. As the monster blew up in a puff of smoke, Jolene saw Link behind it, cleaning a black sticky substance off of his sword, then he sheathed it, and headed for the cage that had opened.

"There's a chest inside…" he declared.

"Open it. Haven't your pirate instincts told you that yet?" she grinned sarcastically as Link chuckled and clicked the lid, opening the chest. His eyes widened in joy and surprise when he saw what was inside.

He quickly bent in and grabbed the object, pulling it out to show it to Jolene.

"Look what I found!" he declared happily, brandishing his brand new, chain grappling hook. It was like a normal grappling hook, except the rope that was attached to the grapple hook was replaced by sturdy chains, letting the grappling hook carry a bit more weight than usual. Link had only seen one in Hyrule, and it was owned by a rich merchant. He had never actually used a chain grapple before.

"So THAT'S what the horizontal bars were intended for…" Jolene concluded, looking at one horizontal bar on top of her head, leading away into the sides of the mountain.

"Yup. Guess so. Now, grab on, we're gonna set sail." He grinned sarcastically as Jolene sighed.

"But why do I have to be the one to hang on? Can't I use the hook?" she looked disappointed.

"No, because I found it. And besides. Have you ever seen a man hanging over a woman as she did the heroics?" he chuckled as Jolene headed over to him and slapped him across the face.

"Sexist bastard." She chuckled as he rubbed his cheek and headed for the chasm on top of which the pole was located.

"Okay, I get the point. Now grab on or stay here." He said as he twirled the grappling hook in the air, aiming for the pole.

"Got it, got it." She sighed, putting her arms around Link's waist. Link smiled, then shot the grapple. It headed through the air and wrapped around the pole.

"Hang on!" Link warned her as he took a deep breath and swung across the gap.

They both landed safely on the other side. Jolene quickly let go of him and ran to the borders, throwing up everything she had eaten that morning.

"Goddesses! How didn't you puke after seeing at which height we were swinging from???" he asked, wiping her mouth with her sleeve.

"I didn't see because I was too concentrated on getting us to land, and not fall from that height?" he shrugged. Jolene shot him a dirty look and he chuckled. "Fine, fine, I'll check." He chuckled as he leaned over the border to check.

And let's just say he threw up too.

"Goddesses! Did we really climb all the way up here???" he exclaimed as he finished his bidding.

"Turns out so… It's amazing. Wonder what'll happen if someone falls from this altitude…" she looked pensive, rubbing her chin with an evil gin plastered across her face.

Link got away from her and opened the door to the inside before she decided he was the guinea pig for the experiment and called her in.

"You coming?" he asked.

"Yeah." She replied, turning away from the great heights and entering the volcano's inside again.

The raging heat of the inside hit them once more as they stepped in. Eyeing around, Link noticed that there were a lot of poles in the main room, which they had just re-entered, but at a different level. They could both see the volcano's lava pool at the very bottom, bubbling menacingly. Turning away, Link noticed that there was a separate ledge a little further. A pole suspended over the gap lead to it.

"Hold on again." Link said as he twirled the grapple again and threw it at the pole, securing it on it. Jolene sighed in annoyance, then put her arms around him. Making sure she was comfortable, Link took a deep breath and jumped off the ledge, swinging to the other side.

As their feet touched the other ledge, Link retracted the grappling hook and put it away, silently continuing towards the door on the ledge. Jolene soon followed.

The next room was a pretty dangerous room, it seemed. Lava everywhere, with a few bridges crossing the pool. There was a chest on the other side, apparently where they were supposed to go.

Slowly and cautiously stepping onto the bridge, Link tested it. It was safe.

"Come on." He simply said, looking around. This was easy… Too easy….

Just like he had expected it, two little goblin like creatures jumped down form the ceiling from each sides of the bridge, ambushing them in the middle.

Jolene gasped as the two goblins raised their spears, and Link finally realized what they were doing when they struck the ropes holding the bridge up. Two of the four broke.

"They're gonna break it!" Jolene screamed as Link quickly dipped his hand into his magic pouch, retrieving his grappling hook a little too late. When he hastily shot it at a pole on top, he was lucky to get a slight grip. Extending his hand forward, he barely caught Jolene by her index and middle finger as they both swung up, Link struggling not to let go of the pale scared-to-death Jolene hanging onto him.

But, seems like the Goddesses did not favour them there when they did so, as the grapple hook's weak grip slipped, sending them both falling into the lava. It was only Link's tough grip that saved their lives.

When they fell, they were pretty close to the other side, and so, Link decided to try his luck. Seems like Farore didn't want him to die yet as he extended his hand for the he gripped a comfortable rock on the slope.

Their fall was abruptly stopped, though Link felt like his arm was about to get ripped in half thanks to the intensity of their fall and the abrupt way they stopped. He groaned in pain, but at least he held on.

"LINK!" For the first time since their fall, Jolene made a sound. He gulped down and looked downwards to see where she was. She was literally hovering over the lava. If she wasn't pushing her feet against the rock, they would've been submerged in lava.

"Do something…" she said worriedly. "Please…" she added, sweat dropping intensely.

"No worries Jolene, I will do all I can, for I do not feel like dying yet either." He chuckled as he looked back up and scanned the ledge. It wasn't very far away, yet in his current position, it could take him some time.

"Jolene, we're gonna climb. But I can't climb with one hand, so I'll need you to get on my back, okay?" he said, gritting his teeth to keep holding on.

"But I can't! I'm barely holding on!" she protested, making sure not to let her feet slip from the rock.

"You have to try!" he grunted feeling his hand slipping. "I can't hold on much longer! Please!" It was now his turn to beg for her help.

Determined not to fry in a pool of lava, Jolene gulped down, and pushed herself up, scaling the wall with her feet while pulling on Link's slipping hand for support.

Link grunted, trying to keep holding on until she got on top of him. She kept scaling the wall as fast, but as gently as possible. After a while, she let go of one hand and put it around Link's neck. Then, quickly letting go of Link's hand, she set her second arm around his neck.

"Good." He smiled as he finally used his second hand to grip the rocks. Grunting in the pain his muscles were giving him for holding on so long onto himself, he set his feet securely in the rock and stated pulling himself up.

Trembling with every limb, he slowly, but steadily made his way up, still grunting in pain, or gasping in the great effort he was making. Jolene could sense that he was tiring, and simply hoped he could make it.

After what seemed an eternally long time, Link finally gripped the border. Smiling, he made his last effort to pull himself up, but to his dismay, his arms wouldn't obey him any longer. With a sigh, he gripped the last handhold he had and set himself steady on his comfortable foothold rocks.

"Jolene, you need to climb off of me so I can reach the top. You'll be okay, I'll be here to help you." He encouraged her. She gulped and nodded, slowly taking her hands off of Link and gripping the border.

"_Why am I doing this? I'm the older one, I should be helping him!"_ she thought as she started pulling herself up, helped by Link who had used one of her hands to push her further up.

It was only when she got up that Link felt the shooting pain of his twitching limbs. He gasped in pain as he tried regaining his breath and moving himself up, but found he couldn't. His entire body was frozen in exhaustion.

"_No… Not now…"_ he thought as he grunted to put a hand up. Feeling his strenght leaving him, he took back the handhold he had before and took a break.

"Link! Take my hand!" Jolene said as she extended her hand.

Feeling exhaustion creeping inside his mind, Link slowly moved his half-closed eyes upwards to see Jolene extending her hand towards him. With a grunt, he also extended his hand, struggling to push himself up with his other hand. Only when their hands were an inch apart, his mind left him alone and he closed his eyes, going limp. His hands dropped all the grips he had, his feet lost their ground, and he went falling down.

"LINK!" Jolene screamed in horror as Link fell down.

The last thing he heard was Jolene shrieking his name. The last thing he thought of was how much it would hurt.

The last thing he saw was black.

"LIIIIIIIIIINK!!!!!!!!" Jolene yelled one last time as Link disappeared under the lava. As soon as she realized he wasn't coming back, she angrily pounded her fist in the ground, making it bleed. Tears of anger and despair ran down her cheeks.

"NO! NO NO NO!" she kept punching the ground, making dents in it, soon filling with her blood that ran down her knuckles. She suddenly burst out in tears, filling the previously silent volcano with her cries.

After a moment, she stood up and looked back where Link had disappeared. Tears running down her cheeks like a river, she stood silent for a moment in the memory of the fallen hero, then turned around.

Anger burning in her eyes, first, she swore viciously out loud, her nasty curses echoing around the volcano. Then, she did what anyone would do when they learned of the deaths of their friends.

She promised him revenge.

And with that, she whipped around and started running towards the chest, the only damned reason Link had given up his life.

And HIS life! Not hers, his! He had given up his life protecting her. It should've been the contrary. She was the adult here, not him!

The thoughts kept nagging in her head until she got to the chest and opened it. Her anger increased tenfold when she took a little metal key out of it.

"THAT'S WHAT HE GAVE HIS LIFE FOR? THAT'S WHY HE DIED!? FOR A FU-"she went on with her nasty curses, tears re-flooding her cheeks. "-DAMNED KEY?" she finished, thinking of throwing it into the magma in her anger. Barely restraining herself as it was a clue, she put it in her pocket and looked around. Without the grappling hook, she couldn't access the other ledge back. And the grappling hook was with Link.

And Link was…

"NO!" she roared again, not wanting to accept the truth. But a voice inside her mind kept nagging her. _"But yes. He's dead, and there's nothing you can do to bring him back. As much as I'd love to blame it on you, he did what he could, and you did too. So stop sulking and get over it. Let's go kick some ass, and clear this temple for him."_

She grunted as she heard a shimmering sound behind her. Quickly turning around and taking out her scimitar, Jolene saw a blue portal opening up on the ground, shimmering wildly. With one last sigh at the lethal room, she sheathed her scimitars and stepped in.

Soon, a tingling sensation overcame her body and she was washed away in a stream of tranquility. Her body disintegrated as it traveled through rooms and reappeared in the first room. She spotted the rock they had struggled to push onto the rusty switch. With a nostalgic sigh, she walked past it and over to the locked door.

Obviously, the key was made for it, so she took out her 'cursed' key and inserted it into the lock. The lock clicked, then fell down, along with the chains. Jolene opened the door and stepped in.

The next room was pretty basic. It was a small arena, surrounded by lava. She stepped inside, making the door get locked behind her. Having gotten used to it, she simply looked around for the enemy.

Suddenly, a creature she had never encountered before popped up form the ground. It was like a scarecrow, except its head was a ball of flames.

Happy to finally take her anger out on something, Jolene lunged and abruptly stuck her scimitar into the monster's flaming head, unintentionally killing it. Though her scimitar heated up and she was obliged to let it go, the monster shrieked and disappeared.

"That's it?" she thought, looking around. As cliché as that sounded, two more of those things popped up form the ground and headed for her.

One of them spread its arms wide, getting ready to attack. It sent a few balls of fire hurling towards Jolene. She swiftly dodged them while running for it, and as soon as she dodged its last attack, she threw her scimitar at it.

With a great aim, her scimitar flew through the head and stuck itself in the wall. Jolene ran for it while avoiding the second's attacks. Grabbing it, she immediately threw it at the other one.

The monster avoided it, looking back where it went. Making a fatal error like that, Jolene threw her second scimitar, piercing the monster's soft head. The monster shrieked and disappeared in flames.

There was another humming sound, and Jolene turned around to see a platform elevate out of the lava, with a spiked chest on it. The chest was different than the other ones, so she guessed it had something else than a metal key.

Opening it, she immediately understood what she had to do with the key that came out. It was bigger than the rest, and it had a flare sign on its top part. Pocketing the key, grabbing her scimitars and sheathing them, she headed out the now-unlocked door and out into the first room again.

Immediately heading for the big lock on the next door, she put the key in it and turned. The lock unlocked with a click, and it fell to the ground, bursting into flames, then disappearing as ash. Jolene took a deep breath, steeling herself against whatever was waiting for her inside, and stepped in, closing the door afterwards.

The next room was pretty large. The ceiling was very high up also. Awkwardly enough, there was a long pole for grappling hanging form the ceiling. The middle of the room was entirely covered in a pool of lava, and there was only a ring of ground around it.

Jolene suspiciously scanned the room, looking around for any enemies. What she found instead was enough to make her faint.

"LIIIIIIIIIINK!" she screamed as she ran all the way to the other side, where she could see the boy's limp form, just a little away from the lava, spread on the shore. She quickly kneeled down next to him as soon as she got close and she eyed him intently, feeling tears drip down her cheeks again.

He was completely, but COMPLETELY burned all over. Knowing the many types of burns, on a scale of one to three, Jolene could guess that most of his burns were third degree burns. Though it bothered her that he wasn't breathing anymore.

She was about to investigate the matter further, when there was a great roar, and the ground shook like crazy. Quickly dragging Link's body away form the lava, Jolene looked up into the pool of burning red that was now bubbling. Holding her breath, she steeled herself as a giant snake like scarab shot out of it and glared at her with its single eye.

Jolene quickly grabbed the grappling hook that had miraculously survived the lava incident and twirled it around her left arm. Then, she ran away from Link, trying to get its attention form the boy's already battered body.

The monster soon followed, but got annoyed of turning around in circles, so it crashed both its hands down, making a limit for her. She growled, and tensed up when she realized the monster was getting ready for an attack. Her eyes randomly wandered to the pole on top of it, and she wondered if she could pull it out.

Being her only choice, she sighed and twirled the grappling hook, aiming for the pole. The grapple connected, sending her flying off the ground and swinging over the confused monster.

Soon letting go, Jolene landed on one of the elevated platforms and watched as there was a loud rumbling sound, and the ceiling crumbled, falling onto the monster and shattering its shell.

The scarab, no longer immune to the lava, slowly started burning while screeching like a madman. Jolene closed her eyes as she jumped down, and was there right in time to see the scarab burn to a crisp and disappeared into the lava that soon crystallized all over, leaving nothing but a black surface where the pool had been before.

All her thoughts suddenly came back in mind as she sprinted desperately back to Link. Putting her fingers hopefully over his neck, she felt for a pulse, but got none. Giving out a wail of desperation, she dug her face in her hands and started crying again.

There was a shimmering sound behind her, but she was too busy crying to notice. It was only when someone called her that she turned around.

"Jolene…"

She stopped crying and turned around, eyeing the newcomer all over. She was very familiar.

"Ma…Mal…Malina?" she asked, unsure, eyeing the daughter of Cannon island's mayor. Her red flaming hair and eyes mixed in with the background as she walked towards her.

"What ails you, Jolene?" she asked her.

"You're the Maiden of Fire, aren't you?" she asked her.

"I am. Now tell me what bothers you." She smiled reassuringly.

"WHAT BOTHERS ME? WHAT IS FRICKIN BOTHERING ME?" she yelled at her, moving away to let her see Link's technically cold (but since they were in a volcano, it couldn't be all THAT cold…) body.

"THAT'S MY PROBLEM! YOUR DAMN TEMPLE KILLED LINK! THAT'S WHAT'S WRONG!" she cried as Malina kneeled next to her, smiling despite her description.

"Do not worry, Jolene. He has perished in my temple, there is nothing I cannot do for him." She said, putting as hand on her shoulder.

"So you can bring him back to life?" she asked, hopeful.

"I am not a Goddess, nor a demigod, but I think I will manage. Though after that, his wounds will be your problem, since I will not have enough power left to heal him." She smiled sadly as Jolene fervently nodded.

"Do it! Please! Just do it!" she pleaded, looking at her hopefully through teary eyes.

"Do not worry, I certainly will." She smiled as Jolene shrieked of joy and grabbed her, hugging her and thanking her.

"But you must let me go first." She giggled as Jolene smiled and drew back.

The Maiden of Fire then closed her eyes, concentrating. Extending her hand, a red glow started forming around it, and shot towards Link. There was a minute of silence, where the Maiden struggled to bring Link back to life, then, she relaxed, and opened her eyes.

"Did it work?" Jolene immediately asked her.

"I think it did. Now, I must be off to join my sisters. Your friends have already freed another one. I think they would like to contact you now." she smiled, then disappeared.

Jolene gasped, then looked back at Link. Her joy was indescribably infinite when his chest rose slightly, less than an eighth of an inch, but enough to give her hope and fill her with joy.

She quickly took out a fairy from her pocket, and released it. The little thing flew over to Link, and gasped when she saw his condition. With a sigh, she elevated in the air and twirled around him. Jolene simply watched as the fairy healed the smaller burns, like level 1 burns, then got to second degree burns, reducing them to slight burns.

Then, it paused for a second, and flew back, trying to take care of the third level, life threatening, extremely grave burns located mostly on his arms, his face, his neck, his back and his stomach. Jolene was simply glad the ensemble of clothes the Great fairy gave them had protected him from most of the fire, even if it was ripped to shreds right now.

Speaking of which, Link was getting trouble breathing again because of the absence of his heat-protecting clothes. Jolene simply waited until the fairy stopped and flew away before she grabbed him and headed for the newly made portal in the middle of the room. With a weary sigh, she stepped inside and gave her mind to the darkness as she and Link safely floated back to the entrance of the temple.

They had finally done it… The Temple of Fire was saved…

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**Author Notes:**

**Okay. Link died. XD Then he came back to life. I couldn't let him die just like that XD And the Ifre Temple.... is saved :D Next up, ONWARDS TO THE WATER TEMPLE :D Now that I finished 12 Days of New Year, I think I'll have more time to concentrate on this fic, unless my multi-tasking mind comes up with another fic while I'm writing XD Anyways, Happy New Year 2009, my best wishes to you all for the upcoming year, and hope all your dreams and wishes come true ^_^ May this be the best year for all of us :D HAPPY NEW YEAR!**


	9. Flare up

**Author Notes:**

**Yes, I know I'm late, but come on! School's just started, and I'm lucky I could convince my mom to let me stay home today since it's our community's Christmas (6th of January. Don't ask in which weird community I live XD) But I did it :D SUCCESS! XD Anyways, hope you enjoy it. Seeya at the bottom :)**

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Landing back outside the Great Fairy's fountain, the first thing Jolene did was make sure Link was breathing. Putting her cheek close to his mouth, she found a faint breath, but enough to let him live.

With a weary sigh, she closed her eyes and leaned down next to him, closing her eyes.

---

It was only a few minutes later that she awoke to the sound of something tingling in her pocket.

Groaning, she pushed herself up, digging her hand into her pocket, eyeing Link. He seemed to be okay, excluding all the horrible burns all over his body. She finally found what she was looking for as she removed the shining blue Gossip Stone from her pocket and pressed it in her palm. The conversation soon started.

"Jolene?"

"Nice to hear ya, Tet." She chuckled through the stone, watching her as she squealed of joy. Behind her, Linebeck waved hello. She waved back.

"So! How're you doing? We just finished our first temple. What about you?" Tetra asked.

"Us too. We just freed Malina, Maiden of Fire." Jolene said.

"Speaking of us, where's Link?" Tetra suddenly asked as Jolene flinched, keeping silent.

"Jolene… Where's Link…?" Tetra asked.

"Umm… Next to me…" she told her through her teeth.

"Can I talk to him?" she asked.

"Umm… He's asleep." She lied.

"Well wake him up. I wanna tell him something." Tetra rolled her eyes.

"Err… I don't think he would be happy about it…" she thought up as an alibi.

"Come on! Are you hiding anything?" she raised a brow.

"Jolene, just tell the truth. We're cool." Linebeck told her.

"Well… See… We kinda had this little accident in the Fire Temple…"

"WHAT ACCIDENT!? TELL ME HE'S OKAY!" Tetra yelled, her cheery look becoming one of horror.

"Um… Okay isn't a good word…" Jolene sighed as she moved the stone on top of Link.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX……………XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

Tetra and Linebeck waited until Jolene had finished moving the stone. Tetra was biting her lower lip.

_Okay isn't a good word…_

What did he do this time?

It was only when her eyes rested on his limp form that she screamed and fell back, dropping the stone. Linebeck bent down and took it in his fingers, grabbing Tetra with his other hand and pulling her up.

Tetra burst into tears, covering her face with her hands. Setting her gaze on Link's ravaged body again, she snatched the stone away and practically yelled in it.

"WHAT THE HELL DID YOU GUYS DO THIS TIME???"

"Calm down, calm down…" Jolene's voice sounded in the air.

"I CANNOT CALM DOWN! WHAT HAPPENED TO HIM?" she screamed again.

"Well, see, we were kinda stuck on a ledge, and he told me to climb up on his back, so like that, we moved up, and I went on the platform. Then, I extended my hand, but all the strenght he had given to climb all the way up taxed his energy and he lost his grip, falling backwards into the lava pool below." She explained with a sad tone. If the stone was turned towards her, Linebeck and Tetra could've seen her crying for the first time in their lives. But since the stone's view was focused on Link, they didn't see her.

"I guess his heat resistant clothes given to us by a Great Fairy protected him a little, but when I found him….dead…"

" HE'S DEAD? HE'S FRICKIN DEAD? IS HE FRICKIN DEAD?" Tetra practically roared in the stone.

"Um… Well, he was, until I found him, and beat the boss, freeing the Maiden. The Maiden used her powers to give him back his breath, and I used our last fairy to heal him minor wounds. Seems like his third degree burns are gonna stay for a while though." Jolene finished her explanation as Tetra dropped the stone once more, collapsing in tears.

Linebeck took the stone back up and asked.

"The important is, how is he now?" he asked.

"He's breathing, yet severely burned at many areas. I think I'm gonna try the Great Fairy again." she said.

"Call us back when you do. I think Tetra needs to calm down a bit." Linebeck said.

"Okay, I'll call you back. Love ya, Linebeck." She blew a kiss through the stone.

"Love you too. Bye." Linebeck finished as the colour of the stone dimmed and the conversation was cut off.

Storing the stone away in his pocket, Linebeck leaned over Tetra and put his hands on her shoulders.

"Don't worry. Jolene's gonna take him to the Great Fairy." He smiled as she looked up at him with beady eyes.

"Yeah, but what if she's too late? What if he's too injured to be remedied? You saw those burns! They're humanly impossible to recover from! He was lucky he was wearing his heat resistant clothes, or else he would've melted or something!" she cried.

"Hey, stop being so pessimistic. Jolene will talk back to us once she gets him healed, okay?" he encouraged her.

"Okay." She agreed, sniffing.

"Come on Tetra. Be courageous." Linebeck smiled, then walked away.

"I will be courageous…" she told herself. "For Link…" she added as she got up and ran after Linebeck, drying her tears.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX………………XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

As her stone's colour dimmed, Jolene sighed and put it away. Looking at Link, she could see he was struggling. No one would've resisted to those kinds of burns.

Red, charred, cracked and bleeding skin covered his entire left arm, and his right forearm. His legs had given up to the fire and were blackened and cracked horribly. His face was barely recognizable through the bumps and cracks on the various burns on his cheeks, lips and forehead.

His neck was completely charred, which was very dangerous, and giving him trouble to breathe. His ripped shirt showed his chest, where third degree burns covered dangerously his heart's area, plus a little on the stomach. Same went for his back, cracked and bleeding all over.

Sighing, she got up and grabbed Link by his miraculously non-burned right upper arm and dragged him into the cavern behind them.

Now knowing what to do, she slowly carried him to the marble steps in front of the Sacred Waters and set him on the last one. Then, stepping behind him, she bowed her head.

"Great Goddesses, I am sorry for asking for your assistance once more, but it seems the Hero has the need to get hurt wherever he goes." She couldn't help but mention that, but soon continued. "I am indebted to you for asking so much help, but please grant me some more assistance now. I beg of you to let him live. Please, give me the Courage, Wisdom and Power to heal him, and help him live.

She waited a while, and just like last time, the Great Fairy appeared in a burst of laughter.

"Well, the Hero sure lets himself get into lots of trouble, now doesn't he?" she giggled as she stood floating on the calm waters of the pool.

"Jolene, you needn't to be alarmed. All you must do is use the bandages with which I will provide you with, dip them in these Sacred Waters and use them to wrap his wounds up. She giggled, as she snapped, and some bandages appeared next to Jolene.

"I wish you luck Heroes. I have given you your fairies back. But now, I must bid you farewell. Goodbye!" she giggled and disappeared in a burst of hysterical laughter.

Jolene sighed in relief as she grabbed the bandages and dipped them in the Sacred Pool for a moment before taking them off, and, still dripping with the healing waters, she cut strips that she wrapped around Link's arms, legs, chest and back. Then, she used the remainder to wrap them around his forehead, going all around his head. A bit more went in rings around his entire neck. For the cheeks, she simply ripped little pieces and, dipped in water, they stuck perfectly to his skin.

Sighing of relief, she leaned down on her back and closed her eyes. Breathing in the cool air of the Great Fairy's Fountain, she remembered Linebeck and Tetra were waiting for her report. Sighing, she fumbled through her pocket, noticing like the Great Fairy said, that the bottles were refilled with a couple of fairies. She brought out the Gossip Stone that was dark blue and brought it to her lips.

"Tetra and Linebeck." She whispered in it.

The stone floated up in the air as she whispered the names of the two other communicators. She let go and simply watched as the stone rumbled, becoming a flashing blue. Then, when the conversation was set, it returned in Jolene's palm.

"Hey." she greeted, spotting Tetra and Linebeck on the other side. Tetra had red eyes and was sniffing, and Linebeck was holding the stone it seemed.

"Hey." Linebeck greeted. Tetra simply jumped from her seat and grabbed the stone.

"IS HE OKAY? IS HE GONNA MAKE IT? WHAT'S HAPPENED?" she screamed. Jolene shut her eyes for a moment and sighed.

"Don't worry. I got the situation under control. The Great Fairy gave me some supposedly magical bandages. He should recover soon enough." She said.

"Can I see him?" Tetra tone was softer, as if pleading.

"Yeah." Jolene shrugged as she turned the stone around for her to see Link, sprawled on the floor. Yet, his burned, though handsome features were matched up by a serene smile over his face.

Tetra sighed in relief.

"Do you know when he'll wake up?" she asked as Jolene took the stone back to her side.

"No, no telling. Thought the Great Fairy said he should be okay. Just trust her, Tet. She was sent by the Goddesses, I think she knew what she was doing." Jolene giggled. Tetra sighed in relief and closed her eyes.

"Hunh? What's that?"

She quickly opened her eyes again, peering into the stone curiously. Jolene was looking over at her sides, but the stone wasn't at her sides' range and so she couldn't see what she was looking at.

Suddenly, Jolene grinned like a madman and turned back to the stone.

"Ladies and gentleman, pirates and pirate-ess, I give you, sleeping beauty!" she grinned as she shifted the stone's view.

Tetra breath stopped when she got a sigh of Link, eyelids fluttering weakly open and closed, scanning his surroundings, mostly interested in the sky it seemed.

"LIIIIIIIIIINK!!!!!!!!" she screamed through the stone. Link's head suddenly shot up, and he moved himself in a sitting position, holding himself up on his elbows.

"Tetra." He weakly called.

"LINK!" she screamed again, shedding tears of joy. Forgetting his charred body, his bandaged half-corpse and his terrible condition, she screamed again, of joy this time. Her gaze fixed on his beautiful, though terribly pale azure eyes.

"OH GODDESS DAMMIT LINK! DON'T EVER SCARE ME LIKE THAT EVER AGAIN YOU BASTARD!" she screamed, sobbing her heart out.

"Hey Tet." He greeted with a wry smile, seeing her cry through the Gossip Stone.

"LINK YOU DAMNED MORON! WHY DID YOU FRICKIN SCARE ME LIKE THAT?" she cried again.

"Like I had a choice. I'd rather get hurt than let anyone else of you get hurt." He shrugged.

"Don't do it again. If you ever do, I'm gonna beat your ass if you don't die." She threatened, though still crying of intense joy.

"Umm… Guys…" Linebeck interrupted.

"Touching moment, but we have a couple of worlds to save…" he reminded them. Tetra's face fell.

"Well…I guess we should go then, hunh?" Jolene said.

"But I don't wanna leave you, Link!" Tetra argued.

"Come on, it's for the best. We'll talk again after the second temple, okay?" he smiled reassuringly.

"I'll take your word for it." She sighed miserably.

"Hey come on. Think of me, that I'm alright, and time will fly past you, okay?" he grinned.

"I hope so…" she smiled through her tears.

"Okay. Then let's say goodbye. We'll talk later, okay?" Link reassured her.

"Okay. I love you sooo much. Try not to die again next time, I think Jolene will get tired of dragging you to the Great Fairy's Fountain all the time. The Goddesses are gonna get pissed at you, Link." she giggled.

"Love you oh-so very much too. Sending you kisses." Link grinned, blowing a kiss through the stone. "And we'll talk later. Bye!" he added. Linebeck and Jolene sent each other kisses silently, then the stones dimmed.

The conversation was over.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX………………XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

Putting the stone away, Linebeck opened their magic map.

"Now where to?" he asked, looking at the two remaining crosses on the magic map.

"What's the closest?" she asked.

"Seems we have a Maiden on some kind of island here" he said, pointing at the red cross.

"And another one is hidden up there, inside the desert of the Isle of Gust." He sighed as he pointed at the Island of Gust, well hidden on top of the North-western Sea.

"We'll take the closest, on that island there." Tetra pointed at the first one.

"Okay then. Let's head for it. Sails on!" Linebeck smiled as he put the map away and headed for the wheel. Tetra smiled back and jumped form the top deck, then climbed onto the net that was the closest to her. Getting to the top, she grabbed the ropes that held the sails in place and released three of the four.

Then, grabbing onto the fourth one, she jumped, releasing the sail and landing safely on the deck at the same time.

"Set sail towards our second Maiden!" Tetra yelled. With a smile over their faces, Linebeck and Tetra set out towards the second temple.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX………………XXX XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

As soon as the conversation was over though, Link dropped down on the ground with a pained groan.

"Goddesses, I feel so…weak…" he mumbled.

"Lemme guess. All that cheeriness in front of Tetra was just acting?" Jolene sighed, putting the stone away.

"Hell yeah. I feel like my body is getting ripped to shreds…" he groaned, gritting his teeth to avoid crying out in pain.

"Don't worry. The Great Fairy said those magic bandages will heal you faster than normal.

"Can we just take a break? I don't think I can walk." He mumbled.

"Even if you had said you could, I would've insisted. Link, you should have a look at yourself! I think you look feverish too. Do you feel any pain in your head?" she asked.

"Gee, Jolene. I fell into thousand degree burning lava, and you don't think I'll have fever? Goddess dammit, my brain feels like it's gonna explode." He groaned.

"Ok, at least the Great Fairy's fountain is cool and refreshing. Don't worry. I'm sure you'll be okay…" she smiled. Ripping part of her pants from the bottom, she dipped the cloth in the water and applied it to Link's forehead. The cloth immediately hissed, the water on it evaporating.

Now, Jolene's eyebrows knit together in confusion but great concern.

"It's not supposed to do that! I don't think it's possible to have a fever high enough to make water evaporate!" she gasped, setting her hand on his forehead. She quickly pulled it away, dipping it in the cold waters to cool it down. He was MORE than just burning up! She could've sworn there was lava circulating in his veins!

"Link! Link answer me! What's happening? How do you feel?" she almost screamed in his face. Applying a hand to his neck, chest and forelegs, she realized the heat was spreading further than just his head.

"I…I…My head…Blow up… Gah…Hot… Water…" he rolled his head around like a drunkard, babbling senseless things. Jolene splashed some water over his face. The water stood for a moment, then in a few minutes, evaporated.

Jolene shrieked. Link's body heat was becoming far higher than usual. A bit too much. It was getting dangerous.

"LINK! LINK! SAY SOMETHING! Something with a particular sense." she added, seeing as he was saying random words.

Link's back suddenly arched in pain as he closed his eyes and screamed out in pain.

"LINK!" Jolene screamed again.

This time, she didn't have to call anyone since the Great Fairy appeared by herself.

"Jolene!" she screamed, running for her. It was the first time Jolene had seen her without her cheerful face. Now, her brows were knitted in worry and concern.

"Jolene! It seems that Link has more than just burns!" she gasped.

"_Naw, gee, ya think?"_ she thought sarcastically, but the Fairy continued.

"I'm not powerful enough to heal him! You'll have to take him to my sister, the Great Fairy of Wisdom! She lives southwest from here, in a cave near Great Bay!" she told her.

"Great Bay? Where's that?" she asked, confused.

"The little dried up lake you saw was supposed to be an ocean a long time ago! It dried up, but my sister is still there! She can help you! I will use my powers to transport you to Termina Field, but from there, you'll have to run." The Great Fairy said.

"Run??? I can't even lift Link! How am I supposed to run?" she asked.

"Don't worry, I can help." She smiled sadly. Pointing at Link, a green beam shot out of her finger and created a green dome around him. Link shuddered in pain, but didn't scream. He was probably too busy trying to eat off his illness, or it was already… No.. It wasn't too late. It was never too late.

"Okay! Let's go then!" she urged her. The Great Fairy lifted Link and attached him to Jolene with a green beam.

"He'll follow you. Now run! The Hero's life is in your hands!" she disappeared without a laugh this time. Jolene suddenly felt like someone was tugging on her senses. She closed her eyes in pain, and everything went black. Next thing she knew, she was standing in Termina Field, like the Fairy had mentioned. A bit further, she could already see Great Bay, as the Fairy had mentioned.

Taking a deep breath, she started in a crazy sprint, making sure Link's dome was still following.

After what seemed like a ten minute run with no encounters on the field, Jolene spotted a cavern in the rock. Hoping it was the fountain, she quickly ran into it.

It took a while for her eyes to adjust to the blue glow of the cavern, but she knew she had made it. Right when she stepped in, the green dome around Link disappeared, and he fell to the ground, rolling to a stop a few feet away.

Jolene shrieked and ran for him. Placing two fingers on his neck, she took his pulse. It was faint, but it was there. She sighed of relief.

This time either, she didn't need to call the Great Fairy of Wisdom as she appeared in the similar Sacred Pool and ran for them.

This one was very resembling to the other, except her thigh-length hair was blue instead of green. The rest of her body was completely similar to the Great Fairy of Courage's body.

"I have received word of my sister, the Great Fairy of Courage, that the Hero's life was threatened. What happened?" she asked, kneeling next to Jolene and Link.

"I don't know what's going on! He fell into that mountain's lava, the Maiden of Fire revived him when he died, we healed most of his burns, but now, a terrible fever just popped up like that!" she told her with a trembling voice.

"Okay. Step back." She advised her. Jolene nodded and took a few steps back. The Fairy hummed, a blue glow emitting a faint aura around her left hand. Raising it, she applied it to Link's forehead. Link shuddered again, but stood still as the Great Fairy waited for a moment before answering.

"I cannot heal him fully. I have placed a magical seal over whatever is circulating in his body to prevent it from destroying him any further, but it is temporary. The only one who can lift this curse off of the Hero is the Maiden of Water herself. The Temple is not hidden anywhere. In fact, the entrance is this Sacred Pool. You'll have to dive to get in. I will change your clothes to adjust." She explained, stepping up.

With a snap form her fingers, Jolene's red clothes turned blue, and whatever was left from Link's shorts turned also blue. His shirt was burned, so Jolene thought best to take it off completely.

"Thank you. Will he wake up?" Jolene asked her. The Great Fairy smiled.

"Yes, he is safe for now. The seal will last for three hours. Do not waste your time, get going. I wish you luck, and bid you farewell, my Heroes." She smiled, and with that, she disappeared.

There was an awkward silence, where Link stirred. Jolene hopefully stood over him. A few minutes later, his eyelids fluttered open. Jolene smiled as Link got up and rubbed his head with a moan. Her smile widened into a grin when Link looked around and spoke.

"Were still here?" he asked.

"No, were at the Great Fairy of Wisdom's fountain. You were unconscious, so the Great Fairy of Courage teleported us here because the Great Fairy of Wisdom only could heal you." She explained.

"And? Is the fever gone?' he asked, stepping up with some help from Jolene.

"Not completely. See, she says that…"

"Don't tell me." He suddenly cut her off.

"Why?" she asked him.

"Because, if I'm dying, I'd rather not know about it." He grinned as Jolene laughed patted him on the back.

"Good to have you back." Smiled as she led him to the Sacred Pool.

"Wait… We're gonna dive?" he asked her.

"Yeah, nice guess." She replied, shrugging.

"What about breath? Are these clothes made for breathing underwater?" he asked.

"Yeah. Now stop asking and get diving." Jolene smiled as she took a deep breath and dove into the pool. Link sighed, then took his turn, disappearing under the rippled surface of the Sacred Pool and entering their next temple.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX……………XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

"Tetra…"

Tetra opened her eyes and looked behind her. They were using the same method as before, using her Triforce and Zelda's spirit to find the island, which Linebeck had defined as uncharted since it didn't appear on the maps.

"Yeah?" she asked with the deep, melodious voice of Zelda's spirit.

"Are we there yet?" he asked, exasperated.

"Relax Linebeck. I feel it is close. Actually, I think you should stop now." she smiled. Linebeck nodded and stopped sailing. Heading for the anchor, he dropped it and waited for instructions.

"Now, simply hold on to the borders." She smiled, stepping up on the Wolfos and extending both hands towards the sea. With a deep breath, she concentrated on her Triforce.

"Guardians of the sea, I come to thee to ask permission to open the path to the Temple we are searching. Nayru, Goddess of Wisdom, lend me your eternal knowledge and strenght to call upon the Sea Gods." Her hands glowed faint blue, though she kept her eyes closed.

Taking a brief pause, she accented on the faint blue glow, making it become harder.

"And so, Gods of the Sea, open up before me the Lost Island of the Kokiri! Raise thyself, forsaken island, island of the long-lost children of the Forest! I, Zelda, carrier of Nayru's Wisdom, order you to rise upon the surface once more!" she finished, louder than before, as the glow around her hands shot towards a definite spot in the water.

The water rippled for a second, then the ripples became bigger, and to Linebeck's infinite surprise, the calm water was greatly disturbed as a column of water shot out.

Linebeck closed his eyes to avoid getting water in his eyes as the cool substance washed all over them. And lo and behold, when he opened his eyes, there stood a green, tree covered island in front of his eyes, where the column had shot out from.

"Thank you…" Tetra whispered, falling backwards. She closed her eyes and gave up to darkness.

As soon as she started tilting backwards, Linebeck shot towards her. She directly fell into his arms. He sighed, and with a groan, he lifted her, bringing her safely on deck.

Then, putting her down on the wood, first, he shook himself to get rid of the excess water with which he was sprayed, then grabbed the wheel. Reeling the anchor back up, he started the ship in the direction of the mysterious island.

---

A little while later, Tetra was roughly pulled from the blissful darkness in which she was lost by someone splashing water on her.

She immediately shot up in a sitting position, coughing up all the water that she had gotten stuck in her throat. Then, she looked up and saw Linebeck grinning at her with an empty bucket in his hands.

"Wakie-wakie." He grinned as Tetra looked at him sceptically.

"Yeah, okay." She grinned back as she took the hand he was extending and stood up.

"So…Is the the new temple on this island?" Tetra asked, looking around. All of the scenery was nothing but trees. Endless trees, everywhere.

"Yeah, I think so. We just need to try and find the entrance now." Linebeck chuckled. "Good luck with that." He added.

"I think I can lead us through." Tetra said.

"Okay." Linebeck simply shrugged. Tetra sighed, then closed her eyes. Awakening the Triforce once more, she left her spirit to Zelda and backed at the bottom of her subconscious to wait until 'Zelda' finished what she was supposed to do.

When Tetra opened her eyes again, they were deeper, wiser blue. With a smile, she closed her eyes once more and let her soul slip out, scouring the territory, pinpointing the exact location of the temple.

Opening her eyes again, she noticed that her Triforce was blinking.

"Line..." she called out, but Linebeck was too busy reading something carved in one of the trees.

"What's that?" she asked, getting closer.

"I don't know, some kind of riddle, I guess…" he shrugged, giving her place to read.

"Can you decipher what it means?" he asked.

Zelda nodded and analyzed the writing carefully. They weren't the same letters as the modern Hylian they used. No, the letters were Ancient Hylian letters.

"I just might. These are Ancient Hylian letters. It is not widely known, but I think I can decipher at least what's written…" she said.

"Okay then. Go." Linebeck said.

Tetra's eyes narrowed as she put a hand on her mouth and read the complicated symbols.

After a few minutes, she spoke.

"Well, I can read the word 'bënkati' here, meaning 'welcome…" she started.

"And then… wùdz…It says… Lost Woods… kímilo.i ëk kímino.i… Boys and girls…forèst… of course, forest…" she mumbled more for herself than Linebeck. Standing up, she told him.

"It is some kind of welcoming plate. It says something like 'Welcome children of the forest.' Or something like that." She translated.

"What does the rest say?" he asked.

Zelda crouched once more to get the strange markings in front of her eyes and read the entire thing slowly.

"Some kind of warning… I can see the word wárnïng here… and then … lost…, but there's a word I can't understand in the middle. I think it means 'in'… So that would make the phrase…" she pondered for a moment as Linebeck looked at her awkwardly, not understanding a word she was saying.

"Okay. Now I'm pretty sure the phrase says: Warning. Anyone who isn't a child of the forest will get lost in these woods, or something roughly translated like that." She sighed in victory as she stood up and looked at the amazed expression Linebeck was giving her.

"How…How did you…?"

"Oh, forget it. Let's just make sure we don't get lost like the warning plate says." She shrugged amusedly as she took the lead, her Triforce leading the right way. Linebeck followed closely, not wanting to get lost in the menacing woods.

---

"My Triforce says the temple should be right around the corner…" Zelda mumbled, looking up around the corner. She could spot the faint entrance to a temple behind some moss covered branches.

"Were here!" she sighed in relief.

"Thank the Goddesses! Finally!" Linebeck complained as Zelda chuckled.

"Well, time to call Tetra back. Seeya." She waved goodbye, giving her control back to Tetra.

"Hey, I'm back." She smiled. "And I guess Zelda showed us the way, hunh?" she asked, seeing the temple behind her.

"You should've seen how that girl read Ancient Hylian! She's amazing! I can't recognize the letter 'a' when I see it, and she translated an entire warning plate for us!" he sighed in amazement.

"Well, guess that's what the Triforce of Wisdom is for, then." Tetra smiled as she headed for the temple.

"Now come on, we've delayed long enough, let's get started. There's a temple to be cleared, and a Maiden to be saved." Tetra giggled, pushing the mossy branches away from the entrance. Linebeck joined her, and soon, they entered the darkness of the Forest Temple and left the Lost Woods behind.

************

**Author Notes:**

**Yep, I officially declare myself the weirdest Zelda fan ever. The Ancient Hylian text up there was really a Hylian alphabet that someone on the net invented. It's a full-fledged language, with grammar rules, and verbs and such...And guess who's the idiot learning it now...**

**YOUR'S TRULY :D!!!!!!! MOI!**

**Here's the website name. Just replace the (dot) by . and the (slash) by /: http:(slash)(slash)www(dot)kasuto(dot)net(slash)?main=language(slash)language(dot)html**

**XD Anyways, back to the sad stuff.**

**With school coming on, I think updates will take longer. Especially that I have another fic (for those who have read my other fic, 12 Days of New Year, then I'll tell you that it's the same purpose, ZeLink, chapter=days.) to write+ fanart for that fic to draw... :sigh: coughcoughplusalittleauthorsboredomcoughcough. I won't translate that for ya, it's too embarassing. Try and find it out on your own... *is ashamed* Yeah, temples are pains in the ass to write... DON'T KILL MEH!**

**Anyways, I swear I'll get the next chapter out the day I've finished typing it, alright :) Okay then. Sorry for the bad news guys :S Have a great back-to-school (not that it's possible...)**


	10. Deeper Than Deep: Water Temple

**Author Notes:**

**Wow guys, I'm SO FRIGGIN SORRY for the delay .... You know how annoying school can be, right? RIGHT? Well, homework takes time and stuff and... err.... that's not a valid alibi, is it? ^_^; alright, you win, shoot me *gives you a gun and puts hands up in the air***

**..............**

**WAIT! BEFORE YOU SHOOT! Look on the bright side :D This is the longest chapter (in all my fics, not just here) I've ever written :D Around 8000 words O_o I never knew it was possible. So it should sustain you, right? Oh well. I hope you like it :) ENJOY!**

*************

As soon as his skin came in contact with the cold water, Link shivered. The water wasn't unpleasant, just cold. At least now he couldn't feel the rage of the terrible fever that had suddenly possessed him.

Looking up form the tunnel in which he and Jolene had been swimming in, he noticed a light shining.

"_That must be the surface…"_ he thought, accelerating. Jolene picked up his hint and started swimming faster too.

The surface came gradually closer and closer until they finally broke through and got up to the surface.

Gasping for air, they both swam to the sides and pulled themselves up, gazing around at the Water Temple.

The walls were covered in moss. The shimmers of the water reflected on the walls. Waterfalls and streams flowed everywhere.

"Eerie, hunh?" Link chuckled, scanning around for any enemies.

"You said it…" Jolene shivered.

"Well, better keep going…" he said, getting up. Helping Jolene up, they both shook the excess water off of them and proceeded to the next door.

The next room was shaped like stairs. White steps made of rocks were dispersed everywhere. Weird silver creatures patrolled the entire room.

The creatures were originally olive green, but a sturdy silver shell protected their soft skin. Knowing they were invincible in their current form, Link simply scanned the room to see their trajectory, then ran off.

Jolene cocked her head, but didn't question him as she followed closely behind him. At the end, after having gotten a bit more than just a few encounters with these weird shelled creatures, they made it to the top, scaling the huge stone steps to the next door.

The next room was huge. It had around two stories, each shaped like circles around one single stairway in the middle. The base of the stairway proved that it was mobile.

At the bottom, there were two holes. One of them was a little crevasse in the rock. The other one, a little more on top, was a door with a huge lock announcing the entrance to a boss room on it. The lock was blue, with six water droplets shaped like a flower on it.

At the very top, a giant crystal chandelier shone brightly, revealing the entire room.

Standing in awe at the huge room, Jolene was the first one to snap out of her trance. Shaking Link so he would snap out too, she motioned to a passage in the wall. With a silent nod, Link followed her as they made it to another section of the room.

Taking out his map, Link noticed a few particularities worth mentioning.

"Hey look…" he said, showing Jolene the map. "The two floors are made the same way, in the same circles. There are four sections to each floors, a few are separated by walls, and there are two sections on each floor adjacent to each other that are linked by broken walls. This means we have to use the stairway to access the top level." Link concluded.

"Well, whoever said you were dim-witted was hell wrong it seems." Jolene giggled, noticing that all he said was true.

"Who said that?" Link asked.

"Tetra's dad?" she chuckled, seeing Link mutter a curse about him and his nobility.

"Come on." Jolene chuckled, pulling him through the wall opening. Accessing the first door inside, they walked through the watery hallway, avoiding the Helmasaur, as Link had decided to call them, entering the next room.

The next room was basically a big pool of water that disappeared in rocks and crevasses everywhere.

"What's the sign there?" Jolene asked. Link walked up to the wooden post she was talking about and checked it.

"_Beware of the underwater maze."_ It read.

"Beware of the underwater maze…" Link rubbed his chin, looking into the water. He could see the bottom through the shimmering surface, covered with seaweed and rocks. "Guess we gotta dive then…" Link reasoned.

"Okay…I'll go first." Jolene decided, taking a breath and diving in, quickly swimming to the bottom. Link took a breath as well, and dove, joining her at the bottom.

Making a sign to follow, Jolene started swimming down, where she could see a hole in the rocks to get to the other side. Link soon followed, sensing some movement in the nearby waters. But Jolene didn't seem to feel it. He simply followed her as they swam towards the bottom.

Finally getting to the hole, Jolene stopped to scan what was there. Nothing much, some seaweed, a big clam, rocks… Shrugging, she kept swimming, not noticing that the clam shuddered a little. Link, who was behind her, did notice it, and instantly realized something was wrong. It was too late though as Jolene carefully swam down, right in the clam's range.

Link's eyes widened in horror as he sped up to catch up to Jolene, who was in great danger. The clam shuddered once more, and this time, Jolene also realized. Moving too late to escape it, her eyes widened in horror as the clam shot open with its tendon stuck between its giant, pointy teeth and jumped towards her.

Link probably saved her life. Grabbing her free arm, he quickly pulled her back just as the clam jumped and inserted its fangs into Jolene's right arm, her sword arm.

A searing pain broke through Jolene's arm as she shuddered in pain and let her breath go, creating bubble. Pulling her hand away from Link, who made sure the clam was still immobile, she clutched her wounded hand against her chest. If she was crying or not, Link couldn't tell because of the water. He just knew that the wound was pretty big, and that the water around her was slowly tainting scarlet.

He quickly unsheathed his sword and swam to the bottom. Knowing that the water would slow his blow down, he anticipated the clam's movements, and right when it shuddered to open, he swung. As he had predicted, the sword cut slower through the water in a horizontal movement, and reached the clam's tendon right when it opened its jaw to bite Link.

He quickly sheathed his sword as the clam disintegrated in purple smoke and swam towards Jolene, now immobile in the water. He grabbed her, and quickly swam through the hole in the rocks. Then, looking up, he saw the surface glittering on top of them.

Taking his decision, he quickly swam up, dragging Jolene with him, his arm never leaving the circumference of her hips. When he finally broke through the surface, he first took a deep breath, then he swam towards the closest piece of land.

Slowly dragging Jolene onto the land, he noticed that's he was a dead weight in his arms. Grunting, he realized she was unconscious. Even if Link was more muscled than her, she was ten years older than him, so heavier. Slowly, he put her down and inspected her arm. He first had to close his eyes at the sight of the terrible wound, but then opened them again to inspect it.

Her arm had been punctured through. All the way. A straight, clean hole, thankfully on the side of her arm. Link guessed one of the fangs had narrowly missed her arm. Then, the area around the wound was purple and swollen, soon covered by the blood gushing out of the wound. He cringed, but fumbled through her pouch to take out a fairy in a bottle. Uncorking it, it flew over Jolene's arm and circled around it like it had done for Link when he broke his ribs in the Fire Temple.

The dust that sprinkled over the wound stopped the bleeding and slowly started closing the wound as well. When finished, the fairy, panting, floated down on Jolene's face and kissed the tip of her nose before flying away in a giggle.

Link then looked at a bandage on his arm, covering one of his biggest burns and gritted his teeth as he slowly peeled it off. His burned arm instantly protested, but he held back the scream of pain, and took off the bandage. Dipping it in the nearby water, he kept it there until he thought it clean enough and drained the water before putting it gingerly around her arm.

Then, he simply waited until she made a groaning sound to smile, and look at her again. Her eyelids slowly fluttered open and she groaned, sitting up.

"Jolene." Link called. She slowly turned around to look at him.

"Hmm?" she asked him, dazed a little.

"How do you feel?" Link asked, concerned.

"Okay." She replied, eyes wandering to his blackened arm, uncovered with the lack of bandages. She opened her mouth, but Link interrupted her by motioning to her own arm with his head. She closed her mouth and looked down, seeing her arm wrapped in whitish, reddish bandages.

"What happened?" she asked, understanding where the bandage came from.

"Remember the clam?" he asked. She nodded. "It sank its teeth through the side of your arm." He briefly explained, excluding the gruesome details on the wound.

She put her other hand down to peel the bandages off to see, but Link stopped her.

"Don't." he simply said as she nodded and took her hand away from it.

"Now what?" she asked, getting up.

"Feel good enough to swim?" he asked, also stepping up.

"Yep. Let's get moving." She encouraged him, going over to the water.

"Yeah, this time, I'll take the lead, and avoid clams, will ya?" Link grinned as he took a breath and dove in. Jolene smiled and nodded, diving in after him.

They swam through the cold waters, looking out for any obstacles, more specifically, other deadly clams like the other one. Thankfully, they made it to the door to the next room without any inconveniences.

Opening the door, Link and Jolene stepped in, looking around. There was just a simple hole in the ground. Upon a closer inspection, he noticed there was water at the bottom.

"Wanna explore down there?" he asked her. She looked around. No other ways seemed open…

"Why not." She agreed. Link nodded and jumped into the hold, soon followed by Jolene.

After a few seconds of free-falling, they splashed into some water. Link looked down to see an underwater passage.

"We could try swimming there." he suggested.

"Alright." Jolene seconded him as he took a deep breath and dove down. Together, they swam until the end of the tunnel, where they resurfaced in a weird, greenish glowing room. Link raised a brow, but pulled himself up, helping Jolene up as well. Together, they stepped away from the hole, looking around for any clues on what to do next.

There was a grinding sound behind them, and the entrance to the hole slammed shut with a metal plate. Link raised a brow at this, but didn't say anything.

"Mini boss room." He grinned wryly, in a totally déjà vu way.

"Yep." Jolene agreed, letting her eyes wander to the ceiling. In the darkness, her eyes focused on a single blob of green stuck up on the ceiling, then her eyes widened when the thing moved.

"AAAAAAAAAAAH!" she screamed as the giant thing suddenly let go, dropping. Link's eyes widened and he grabbed Jolene out of the way to avoid getting her crushed by the giant…

"FROG?" Link yelled in horror as the giant amphibian slammed on the ground, splashing some of the water on the ground.

"HOLY CRAP!" Jolene swore as the frog shook its fat body, dropping a few eggs.

"EEEW!" Link complained as an egg fell right in front of him. He took out his sword and cut through the egg, revealing the now-dead newborn frog inside. Link held the urge to puke, and attacked the next ones before they hatched. Jolene soon joined him. After a few had hatched and had been killed by Jolene and Link, the frog roared and opened its mouth. Both of them immediately spotted the soft skin on his tongue, instantly guessing it was its weak point.

An idea sprouted in Link's mind.

"Got any bombs?" he asked.

Jolene fumbled through her pockets, and took out three of them.

"All I got." She shrugged.

"It'll do." He replied, taking them. He removed arrows and his bow and quickly stuck the bomb on the arrow's tip. The fuse lighted.

Link hurriedly grabbed his bow and pulled it back, fitting the arrow. Aiming for the tongue of the giant frog, he let go of the string. The arrow sailed through the air.

Upon impact, the bomb blew up, making severe damages to the tongue of the monster. It roared in pain, then produced new eggs. Jolene and Link didn't bother finding out how.

The cycle repeated itself as they chopped and slashed through the eggs before they hatched, and hunted down the baby frogs if they ever did hatch. It the end, then mother frog (apparently) opened her mouth in a wail over her lost babies (she should've known better than to let them out if she cared so much), and Link took that occasion to fit in another bomb arrows and aimed it at the tongue. As he released the string, the arrow impacted with the tongue, burning it even more.

Once more, and the frog roared one last time before thrashing. Link and Jolene ducked for their lives as the frog thrashed like crazy. In the end, she calmed down, and exploded.

"Well." Link helped Jolene up. "That was interesting." He wiped off some frog 'blood', since it looked more like saliva than blood, from his pants with a wince in disgust.

"Yep. Now where's the reward?" Jolene agreed, looking around. As if on cue, light gathered from all around the room and formed a chest in the middle.

"There it is." Link answered with a wry grin as he headed for the chest. Waiting for Jolene to get near, he opened the chest and dove his hand inside. He brought out a curious machine from it.

"What is that?" Jolene asked, eyeing the yellowish instrument that had chains wrapped all around it and claws at the end. "It looks like a glove." She noticed.

Link nodded and slid it on. The, he noticed that there were a few bumps inside the glove.

"Wonder what this does." He muttered, pressing on one of the bumps. Apparently, it was a button as the chains around the glove, which he'd directed the claws upwards, unrolled, and the claws detached from the glove to go latch onto a yellow metal plate with a red center on the ceiling.

"Oh no." Link only had time to mutter before the chain reeled back in, carrying Link with him up to the ceiling, where he was left dangling with only the glove supporting him.

"COOOOL!" Jolene screamed with a grin.

"Yeah, now get me down!" Link panicked, not ready to die yet.

"Didn't you press any buttons to get up there in the first place?" she asked.

"Yeah, but if I press the wrong button, this thing will let go!" he sweated. "Isn't there anything in the chest that could help?" he asked desperately.

Jolene shrugged and looked down in the chest. Her eyes caught something white. Curious, she put her hand in and brought out a piece of paper.

"Actually, yeah!" she screamed back, reading the paper.

_Clawshot. Handle with Care._

_Instruction Manual:_

"Heh. Whoever invented this isn't stupid. Check the instruction manual!" she announced, to Link's uttermost relief.

"Well?" he asked again.

"Okay." She started reading. After a few moments, she looked up at him. "Can you feel the switchy thingy in front of your index?" she asked. Link felt the front of his index and found a switch indeed.

"Yeah?" he told her.

"Okay. Now gently push that switch down." She said. Link gulped, and put his finger on the switch, pushing it down roughly. The chain suddenly let go, making him drop with the claws still attached to the rail on the ceiling.

In his surprise and fear, Link let go of the switch. The contraption stopped, and he was left dangling again.

"I DID SAY GENTLY!" Jolene laughed. Link growled, annoyed, but pushed on the switch again, gently this time. He started moving back down, slowly. His relief was immeasurable when his feet touched the ground.

"Thank the Goddesses." He breathed.

"Now press the button on your thumb to let go." She told him. He did so, and the claws came reeling in, snapping back tot heir usual place.

"Crazy contraption." Link muttered, pocketing it.

"Alright, don't pocket it just yet, seems like you need to use that again there." she pointed at the door on the top level, a little farther away. In front of it, on the ceiling, stood another yellow plate.

"Goddess dammit." He cursed, taking the clawshot back out.

"Heh, get used to it. I noticed a hell lot more in the other rooms." Jolene chuckled as Link growled and shot the yellow plate, flying to it. Surprisingly, his weight pulled the switch out of the wall, and opened the gate to the doors in the wall. He smiled and let go to fall.

"Let's go." He growled annoyingly as he dropped and walked to the next room, followed by a giggling Jolene.

The next room was extremely familiar. In fact, it was…

"We're back where we started!" Jolene exclaimed, looking at the rotating stairwell.

"Yeah, but check, we're on the top level!" Link noticed as they both peered down the sides to see the lower level where they had started from.

"Uh hunh…" Jolene frowned. "Now what?" she asked.

"We go that way." Link told her, showing her the hole in the wall. She nodded, and walked with him as they got to the next section. There, they eyed the sort of waterfall-ish dents at the border, then entered the door through the canal that lead to the waterfall-spikes.

Inside was a pretty simple pool of water. Very basic.

Except for the fact that jellyfishes were floating around and clams were patrolling the bottom.

"Err…" Link could only wrinkle his nose in distaste at the current situation.

"Come on, pretty boy, ring up that clawshot." Jolene sighed. Link looked around for any places he could grapple to.

"Jolene?" he asked, with livid fright bleaching his face.

"Now what?" she asked.

"There ARE no places to grapple." He grinned stupidly as Jolene's eyes widened in horror.

"NO WAY! THERE IS NO WAY I'M GOING IN THERE WITH A BUNCH OF HUGE CLAWS WHO TRIED TO SNAP MY ASS OFF!" she yelled at Link.

"Calm down, we'll find a way." Link sighed.

"Yeah, you'd better. I ain't goin' in there." she growled, crossing her arms stubbornly.

"Who's the kid here, you or me!?" Link asked rhetorically.

"Shut up and get it over with." She pouted childishly.

"Okay, okay." He sighed, looking for a solution. He found none. The only way to get to the other side was to swim.

"Okay, okay." He decided, taking out his clawshot and putting it in front of Jolene. "You know how it works, right?" he asked, rolling his eyes.

"Yeah yeah. What's the plan?" she asked, intrigued.

"Just wait here for further instructions." Link rolled his eyes, turning towards the pool. With one prayer to the Goddesses, he jumped in, soon followed by Jolene's scream of horror.

Jolene bit her nails as he didn't resurface yet, but when he did, she started yelling at him.

"WHAT THE HELL IS YOUR PROBLEM!? YOU COULD GET KILLED!" she screamed.

"Well someone had to make this sacrifice." He sighed, rolling his eyes. That's when Jolene saw movement next to him. He didn't seem to see it…

"LINK! JELLYFISH!" she screamed. Link's head quickly whipped around right in time to see the poisonous animal extend its tentacles towards his arm. His eyes widened in horror, and he felt the coldness of the tentacles wrap around his arm and send jolts of electricity through his body. The water doubled the harshness of the attack, and his vision blacked out for a second.

"Jolene… Clawshot…" he whispered, feeling his eyelids droop. Jolene quickly snapped out of her horror trance and armed the clawshot at the almost-transparent animal. She then whispered a prayer to the Goddesses and shot.

The claws ripped right through the transparent animal and killed it. Link immediately shook his head and looked around for more. None were close, and the clams were only snapping at his feet a few inches under him. He gulped down, not wanting to imagine the pain if his feet reached those clams, and started swimming to the other side.

Thankfully, he made it to the other side unharmed and hauled himself up on the shore, panting heavily. He could hear the clams snapping their jaws at his feet in anticipation for a well-deserved meal. He shook the water out of his hair as he lay down for a moment, catching his breath.

"LINK! YOU OKAY?"

"Yes." Link simply breathed, then pulled himself up using the metal pole next to him.

"Okay, Jolene, now, you need to come to this side." He told her.

"I'm not swimming!" she squealed in fright.

"Of course not." He smiled, gripping the pole with his right hand. Then, he extended his left hand away from his face and smiled.

"Aim the hookshot at my arm." He told her.

Her eyes widened in horror and surprise as she shook her head.

"What? I thought I heard you say to clawshot your arm." She laughed.

"That's what I said." He replied in a dead-serious tone.

"Are you serious?" she panicked.

"Very." He replied.

"Come on Link! I could seriously hurt you! Or even pull your arm out!" she screamed anxiously.

"I'm okay, that's what the pole is for. And if you aim right, the clawshot will only grip around my arm, it won't hurt me." He smiled at her.

"Alright, if you say so." She hesitantly brought the hookshot up to her face and aimed it at Link's extended hand.

"Ready?" she asked.

"Any time you are!" he yelled back.

"Okay." She took a deep breath, closed her eyes, and shot.

The claws flew through the air, heading for Link's arm. He steeled himself, and closed his eyes as well, taking a deep breath. He only let out his breath in a gasp when he felt something puncturing his arm and stickiness flowing down his arm. Awkwardly enough, the pain quickly faded away. Opening his eyes, he realized the clawshot had punctured his arm, but it didn't hurt anymore.

"Alright, you can open your eyes now!" he yelled to the other shore.

Jolene fearfully opened her eyes, expecting the worse. She let out a gasp when she noticed Link's bloodied arm, almost fainting at the sight. Link noticed her lividness, and encouraged her.

"Don't give up! You're almost there!" he cheered. She gulped and pushed the button on her index. The claws reeled in, carrying her across the pool.

Link grunted in pain, but kept a good grip on the metal pole in his right hand to avoid losing any…limbs… Soon, both young adults opened their eyes and gasped as they smacked into each other and fell to the ground, tumbling and rolling.

When Link and Jolene finally got up, grunting in pain, the first thing Link did was laugh.

"That was fun." He grinned childishly.

"What do you mean? I purposely hurt your arm!" she screamed, retracting the clawshot from his arm. He didn't even react.

"Truthfully, I can't even feel anything." He shrugged.

"Uh oh…" Jolene blanched. She extended her hand and poked Link's arm. Link cocked his head to the side in confusion.

"What?" he asked.

"Link, did you feel it?" she asked fearfully. She poked him again. He shook his head negatively, and Jolene almost fainted.

"I…I think we touched a nerve." She breathed in horror.

"Oh, so that's why I can't feel anything…" he sighed, poking his arm to confirm his thoughts.

"Great. Now what? We can't have you disabled NOW!" she sighed.`

"Relax, that's why the Goddesses invented fairies." Link grinned. Jolene sighed in relief, and calmed down.

"Yeah, Thank the Goddesses." She breathed at the sky, and took out a fairy that she released on Link's arm. The creature swirled around his arm, bringing back the lost pain for a second, then making it disappear as well. Link poked his arm to check if the nerve was fixed, and nodded to Jolene's silent question. She breathed in relief and got up, moving to the door.

"Thank the Goddesses they allowed your arm to get better, or I would've killed you." She shot him a lightning glare and moved up to the door, opening it. Link followed inside, muttering openly to the sky:

"I owe you gals big time."

The next room was bear. No water, no decorations, no nothing.

"That's weird." Link commented, looking around. Almost as if on cue, the door behind them locked. They both sighed, removing their weapons.

"Another mini-boss?" Jolene asked.

"Yep." Link replied. Soon, a howl was heard, and a snow-white wolfos detached itself from the walls and howled once more before attacking.

"Easy enough." Link said, twirling his sword in his hands in anticipation.

"Yeah, if you call facing off against a deadly 8-foot tall wolfos easy, then yep, I totally agree." Jolene told him sarcastically as she parried the first set of claws. Then, she swung with her second scimitar, narrowly missing the Wolfos.

"Then, yeah." Link grinned, lunging for the wolfos. The wolfos howled and jumped back, making Link clash with Jolene. "Err…Sorry." He muttered as he turned around and blocked the claws heading for his chest.

Jolene also attacked the strong wolfos and got a slash on its arm. It howled in pain and jumped back. Then, in a swift blur of movement, it jumped forward, claws crashing against Jolene's stomach. She only had time to breathe Link's name before she fell unconscious, blood pooling around her.

"Jolene!" Link screamed in horror as he quickly swung for the wolfos, doubling his strenght. The wolfos soon engaged in close combat with him, and Link soon came out the victor. With one final slash, the wolfos gave out its last cry and disappeared in blue flames.

Link quickly ran to Jolene, ignoring the chest that appeared in the middle of the room. He kneeled next to her and checked her pulse. Steady.

He breathed in relief and fumbled through her pouch to find a fairy. Taking out their last bottle imprisoning the little creature, he opened it and waited until the fairy closed the wound on her stomach before lifting her up and moving for the chest.

The kicked the chest open. Inside, there was a pair of…

"Iron boots?" he stared stupidly at the metal-dressed boots. He shrugged, and put Jolene down. Then, with both arms, one by one, he fit the boots in his magic pouch. Then, moving his arms to relieve their stiffness a bit, he took Jolene in his arms again and moved to the unlocked door, to the next door.

To his relief, the next room was a bit wider with decorations. A long path that lead upwards was visible on the other side of the platform they were standing on. In the middle, a big pool was visible. The water level was low, and so, the middle platform couldn't be reached. On the middle platform stood a switch.

Link put Jolene down and splashed some water on her face. Then, he waited until she grunted and stirred from unconsciousness.

"Wha…? What the…?" she looked around at the change of scenery. Link chuckled and replied.

"We're in the next room. I beat that Wolfos. Got me a pair of Iron Boots." He sighed. She groaned and sat up.

"Now what?" she asked, eyeing the new room.

"I guess we climb up that path." He motioned at the swirling path upwards with his head.

"Cool." She smiled.

"Feel strong enough to walk?" he asked. As a reply, Jolene got up and smirked at him, leaping to the path's platform.

"I'm no weak female gal here." She smiled, walking up the path. Link chuckled, and got up, running after her.

The way up was pretty boring; they encountered a few Helmasaurs that Link defeated with his new clawshot by removing their metal helms and slashing their soft bodies, but asides that, they made it to the top structure pretty quickly.

Link quickly spotted the switch in front of him with a clawshot sign. It was too easy.

"Jolene, grab on." He simply said with no further explanation. Jolene, having gotten used to his strong senses of danger, put her arms around his waist. He smiled, then whipped out the clawshot, aiming at the switch. The claws grabbed onto the the switch. With another push, the chain retracted, pulling the switch in.

From the top wall, a part slid out, and water came pouring down on the pathway they had been on. Jolene yelped in surprise as her feet left the ground from the water rush, but she kept attached to Link. All that was supporting him were the claws of the clawshot, still gripping on the switch.

"Jolene, I'm gonna let go. Now hold on, whatever you do, don't let go." He told her. She nodded, and with one last breath, Link pushed the buttons retracting the claws and let the water carry him away.

The first few moments were scary, but Link and Jolene soon adjusted, taking a liking to the unusual exercise.

"Wheeeeeee!!!!!!!!!" Link exclaimed as they rushed past the walls like a water slide. Till holding onto his waist, Jolene laughed.

"You're right, this is fun!" she laughed. Link's laughs soon stopped and he poked Jolene.

"Get ready for landing." He grinned. Jolene looked at him with a smile.

"Aye aye Captain."

They both laughed and cheered as they got to the end of the trail and splashed into the now-full pool of water. Getting back up to the surface, they kept laughing as they swam to the middle platform.

Link helped Jolene up and he grabbed the switch. As he pulled, another trap door opened, letting the water flow freely down a pre-carved path they hadn't noticed before that worked under the doors as well.

After that, they both jumped into the water and swam to the next door, which was now accessible with the raise of the water level. And they opened it and went inside.

The next room was the main room. At a completely new angle. Jolene peered down the sides of the narrow platform they were standing on and gasped, jumping back, almost making Link fall over. He grabbed her as she started quivering uncontrollably.

"What's wrong?" he asked her, concerned.

"Height…Height…Scary… Oh my Goddesses… AAAAH!" she screamed, digging her head into his bandaged chest, crying. He raised a brow, but peered over the edge as well. His face immediately blanched.

"Oh my Goddesses." He looked back. "Who knew we were standing from so high up." He said, tearing his gaze away from the second floor below them. They were clearly on the very top floor of the main room, clearly the chandelier's floor, since the crystal structure was right before them. He could spot the bottom pool at a few fifty feet below them. A great distance indeed. He just noticed that the stairwell was now a rapid with the water they activated on the former room.

And he also noticed that the water level had risen, giving open path to the boss door. All they needed was the boss key.

He looked around, trying to find anything to do. That's when his eyes caught something black on the pure crystal chandelier. It looked like…

"A chest?" he almost fell backwards in astonishment. That meant that the chandelier was made to step on…

"Jolene…?" he asked, ripping her out of his arms.

"What?" she snapped fearfully. He raised a brow but got her off.

"We need to walk on that chandelier." He told her calmly. Her eyes widened in horror.

"NO! WHAT IF THAT THING BREAKS?" she screamed in horror.

"It won't, it's supporting this huge chest there." he pointed out. She calmed her breath, then looked over.

"Nayru Farore and Din…" she whispered.

"Fear of heights?" he asked with a grin.

"Terrible." She replied.

"Come on, I'll hold your hand." He grinned.

"No, I'm not weak." She insisted, taking a first step on the chandelier. After making sure it was safe to step on, she put on her second foot, and walked towards the chest. Link soon followed with a proud smile on his face.

"You do the honours of opening it." He smiled, motioning to the chest with his hand. She smiled and opened it.

"LINK!" she exclaimed in surprise. He peered inside. The surprised expression on his face left it and got replaced by a satisfied grin.

"We're almost done with this temple Jolene! And this is the key to success." He plunged his hand inside the chest and took out the Boss Key, a blue key with the water insignia on it. "Literally." He grinned. Jolene could barely contain her excitement.

"Well then, let's go." She clapped happily.

"Okay." He simply said, pocketing the key. Then, he stepped close to the border and made a sign for her to join him.

"What?" her face blanched again.

"Come on. The Boss room is right below us." He indirectly told her, but she caught on pretty quickly.

"NO! I'M NOT JUMPING!" she screamed in horror.

"Come on, I'll hold you." He sighed, rolling his eyes.

"NO!" she screamed again.

"Just evaluate how far we are from the water. It's completely safe." He shrugged. She got a bit closer to the border and looked down. Her vision blurred.

"LIKE A HUNDRED FEET?" she panicked, looking back. "There's no way I'm jumping. Let's go back." She crossed her arms stubbornly.

"Alright." Link smiled a smug grin and did something only he would do. With his trademark sarcastic grin, he snaked his arm around Jolene's waist, caught her, and without leaving her another word, he jumped off the chandelier.

When Jolene realized what was happening, she screamed, she screamed on top of her lungs, so much, that Link considered letting her go to reach for his ears. But he drove that idea to the back of his mind. That wouldn't very nice of him.

"Hang on, we're almost there." he encouraged her. She took a break from her screaming to answer.

"I'M DOING NOTHING BUT THAT! I'M JUST HOLDING AND SCREAMING FOR MY F*CKIN- LIFE!" she screamed again.

"Okay then. Get ready for landing." He smiled, ignoring her screams and curses. Soon, he held his breath and plunged feet first into the water pool. He closed his eyes as they were submerged into the water. Jolene who was too busy screaming to hold her breath started wildly squirming in his arms. He quickly kicked his feet towards the surface as her lungs burned for air.

After a simple struggle, her fear took over, and she let go of her breath and bubbles appeared out of her mouth, then were followed by her head drooping on his arm. That alarmed him, and he kept kicking faster towards the surface. For the clothes KEPT breath, they didn't CREATE it.

After what seemed like an eternity, they resurfaced. Link quickly took a breath and made sure Jolene's lifeless head was out of the water before he headed for the Boss Room platform and put Jolene down there. Then, he put one hand in a fist and covered it with the other. Then, he put them to her chest and pushed into it to make her breathe again.

After a while, as in fifteen pulsations, he realized that wouldn't work. With a sigh, he rolled her 90 degrees right to set her in a position where she wouldn't choke on the water in her lungs. When she threw out all the water she could, Link took her back down, and with another deep breath, he plunged down and her mouth and went on with the basic method of CPR he knew since the day Linebeck took him in as a pirate.

After a while of pulsations and breathings, Jolene stirred. Link, glad the process was over, wiped his lips and turned her on the side again. Soon, she spurted out the rest of the water and her eyelids fluttered open. The first thing she did was look at the triumphant looking Link on top of her and frown.

"NEXT TIME WARN ME WHEN YOU'RE GONNA DO THAT!" she yelled at him.

"I did. You just wouldn't cooperate." He grinned mischievously.

"Alright, alright." She pouted like a child.

"Come on. We've got a Boss' ass to whip." He grinned as he took out the key and inserted it into the giant lock oh the boss door. The lock fell down and turned into water, dripping away.

"Okay, let's go." Jolene smiled, walking inside with Link.

"Inside…Was small… Link and Jolene barely fit in it. It was basically a very small room with a huge hole in the middle.

"I guess we need to go in there…" he mused.

"Yeah." She gulped down.

"What? You're not afraid?" he asked with a wry grin.

"No. I'm not going to let that fear control me. We're going in." she breathed.

"Good. Grab on." He smiled. She nodded and snaked her arms around his waist.

"This time, hold your breath, will ya?" he grinned.

"Alright. Let's go." She grinned. With that last thought, they took a deep breath and jumped into the dark tunnel leading to the boss room.

When they finally hit the water, Link thought he saw the bottom. With a weird movement backwards while still holding onto Jolene, he took out his Iron Boots, putting them on. They instantly started sinking lower and lower.

As soon as they hit the ground though, the entire floor shook, making them both look around in confusion. Suddenly, from the pit in the middle, nine tentacles emerged and started wiggling. In one of them, a weird ball of nerve-like substance was strolling peacefully.

Looking at Jolene, Link sent her a mental message.

"_Can you get near and tell me where that nerve thing is?"_ he asked. She understood and nodded. She then let go and slowly swam towards the tentacles.

She slowly circled the apparently harmless boss. Her thoughts were reconsidered when she signalled the nerve to Link. Link aimed the clawshot and shot it, grabbing the nerve and wrenching it right out of the tentacle. The tentacles went into a frenzy and tried grabbing everything around them. Unfortunately, Jolene was right next to one, and she couldn't get away on time. A tentacle grabbed her by the neck and started crushing her.

Link brought back the nerve and put away the clawshot, taking out his sword. With a single slice, he sliced the nerve open, letting the bluish blood of the monster flow out. The nerve weakly jumped back to the tentacles and Link equipped the clawshot again, aiming at the tentacle choking Jolene. When he shot, the tentacle burst into pieces and let Jolene go. She didn't waste a moment and swam back safely to Link. All the tentacles sank into the ground.

Link raised a brow, and they both seemed to ask the same question.

"_It couldn't have been THAT easy…?" _

As if to answer their questions, the ground shook again and the tentacles came back up, this time accompanied by a huge worm-eel like creature behind it.

"_OH MY GODDESSES!"_ they both exclaimed in their minds as the new creature slithered around the room, swimming over their heads.

Link took off his Iron Boots and gave the clawshot to Jolene. He stored the boots away and motioned for her to get to the weak point on the back of the head of the monster, since apparently, its eye was there.

She nodded and swam up to catch up to the monster. Link soon followed.

Together, they waited for the monster and aimed for its eye. Link swam away to become a distraction as Jolene aimed, ready to fire.

Unfortunately, Jolene must've looked much better to eat as the monster changed its course for Jolene instead of Link. Link noticed the change and swam to Jolene, guessing the eel's intentions. With strong arms, even underwater, he pushed Jolene away. She was too confused to object, and she looked down at Link in horror right when the monster activated its amazing suction powers and opened its mouth, exposing the million teeth in the layered gums and sucked Link in, despite his struggle.

"_LINK!"_ Jolene screamed in her mind. Her eyes lit up in desire for vengeance and rage. Now was the time to avenge him. The monster was too busy… tasting….him… And didn't notice her. With a fierce cry of rage, she aimed the clawshot, and precisely shot the eye. The creature wiggled as the clawshot penetrated its weak spot and Jolene reeled in, piggy-back riding the eel.

With vengeance burning in her eyes, she drew out one of her scimitars and drove it violently into its eye. The monster screeched and thrashed, but Jolene kept on, her hands stuck to the scimitar, with rage clearly burning her soul.

"_This is for Link!" _she growled, and twisted the scimitar. The monster thrashed even more. Dying.

Soon, it crashed into some nearby pillars and fell to the ground. All the water of the room drained as Jolene let her breath go and jumped off of the monster, leaving her scimitar there, in its eye. She simply sneered in disgust as it burst into water and dripped away, draining with the rest of the room. All that was left on the floor was…

"LINK!" this time, she said it out loud. Link was lying motionless of the ground, battered, bloodied, and covered in dark patches, victim of what must've been the monster's digestive liquids. Jolene knelt down to him and checked his pulse.

"Thank you Din Farore Nayru and all that is good in the world." She broke down crying on Link's torso as he stirred under her touch.

"Jolene?" he asked weakly.

"Yeah?" she answered through her tears.

"You beat it, didn't you?" he asked with a smile.

"I did, didn't I?" she breathed, realizing what she had done.

"You did. Jolene, you saved my sorry ass. I owe you big time." He smiled, pushing himself up with a hiss of pain.

"I just feel faint now." he dropped back down, closing his eyes. That's when Jolene noticed his face was abnormally red. She gasped and set her hand to his forehead. Just like she had expected, burning.

"Don't worry. The Maiden of Water is right through that door." She encouraged him as she helped him up. Despite his terrible fever, he leaned onto Jolene and walked with her support as they headed for the door to the Maiden Room.

The Maiden room was shining with a bluish glow. Inside, the Maiden of Water was waiting peacefully for her saviours to greet her. Her smile faded when she saw one of them limping painfully on the other.

"Link, lay down, you're going to make it worse." Jolene whispered.

"No, keep going." He said, feeling his vision swim. Soon, they made it to the Maiden of Water.

"My friends and saviours, welcome. I am Kaliana, Maiden of Water, and this here is my temple. I see that your friend has been hurt… How may I help you?" she asked.

"Kaliana, at the Fire Temple, Link had this little accident…" she glared at Link. He smiled sheepishly despite his weakened state. "Anyways, he had a terrible fever that all the great fairies could do was seal. We were told you could heal him from it." She told her, looking down at Link who was now silent, with closed eyes.

"Please." She added with moist eyes as she felt his head droop lifelessly over her shoulder.

"I see." The Maiden took a serious tone and looked at Link. "Set him down."

Jolene took Link off of her and put him down on the ground. The Maiden floated down to him and put a hand on his forehead, soon retreating it.

"I see…" she repeated, putting her hand back down on his forehead and keeping it there. She closed her eyes and started saying something in Ancient Hylian. Her hand glowed blue, and it spread across Link's body. He shivered and shifted slightly, but then relaxed and opened his eyes when she took her hand off.

"That should do it." She smiled. He groaned and sat up.

"Are you the Maiden of Water?" he asked, still sore.

"Maiden of Water, Kaliana, at your service." She smiled comfortingly.

"Thank you for saving me." He smiled.

"It was my pleasure. It's the least I could do after you rid my temple of that foul beast." She smiled warmly.

"Just doing what we do best." He grinned back.

"I'm happy to see you alive and well, but I must get back to my sisters before Bellum can catch me again. Thank you very much for all your help. Good luck with your quest, Heroes." She smiled, then disappeared, leaving them alone. A fountain of teleporting blue magic appeared next to them, and Jolene helped Link up with a wry grin.

"Feeling better now?" she asked.

"Fever's gone, but my limbs still hurt." He frowned.

"What about Tetra?" she asked.

"To hell with that, I'll pretend again." he grinned childishly.

"You're amazing, you know that?" she asked, taking his arm so that they would transport together.

"Yeah, I know. You too." He replied sincerely.

"You know, we're gonna get Hell for this." She grinned, stepping in. Their bodies were flooded with blue magic as they warped back to the Great Fairy's Fountain.

"Boo-yah."

**********************

**Author Notes:**

**Heh, this entire fic was just an alibi for Link and Jolene to argue a lot and for Link to say Boo-yah at the end . XD**

**Okay, I got me a brainstorming-planning scrapbook :D So there, I draw a simple map of the dungeon and number them, then describe the room and what's gonna happen inside according to the number below ^_^ So no idea shortage, since I'm working on it 8/5 XD (as in school hours :D Yeah, I'd rather spend my time lining out my fikkies instead of listening ot the teacher XD) Uh hunh...**

**And drawing Link, Jolene, Tetra and Linebeck in the way they look like while doing the dungeon... Haha, you should see Link on my Water Temple planning page XD Poor guy is covered in bandages and burns, EXCEPT HE IS TOP-NAKED! YES! :D XD I'm weird. Yeah, i'm drawing half-naked guys now (top part, not down, I'm not THAT much of a bitch _)**

**...**

**Yeah... DO THE NUMA NUMA AND THE CARAMELLDANSEN! XD That was random. Anyways, hope you liked this chapter, it was a real pain to write _ Hope I didn't kill your mood TT__TT Oh well. Seeya next chap :D Don't forget to review ^_^**


	11. And I'm Constantly Blinded:Forest Temple

**Author Notes:**

**Okay, before you start flaming me for being late, answer my riddle:**

**What do you call a 13 year old girl who is stuck at her grandma's place for a week, with no internet, just a gamecube with SSBM?**

**Give up? Here's the answer:**

**Me.**

**Yeah, my mom and dad needed to do to Quebec for a convention or something, so they left me at my grandma's . I hated it. And now I feel bad for leaving you like this :'( Can you forgive me? hope so _ Okay then, enjoy :)**

***********************************************

At first, their vision was dark. Then, a few torches lit up to show the way to the next room. The hallway was basic, narrow, and simple. The real challenge awaited in the next room.

When the door was opened, the lights lit on. They both entered the huge main room, looking around in awe.

It wasn't anything to be amazed at, really, but still, the structure of the pillars and walls was amazing. In the middle stood four golden holds that had four different coloured fires lit on them: Green, blue, orange and purple.

They both walked to the middle, where some sort of elevator was located. Unfortunately, the second they set foot down the stairs that lead to the middle, a loud cackle was heard in the air. Both warriors immediately drew out their respective weapons and stood in a battle-ready position.

Suddenly, out of the walls came four Poes, each matching the colour of one of the torches. The purple one cackled evilly and drifted down to the purple torch, standing on top of it. The three others soon did the same for their own torches. Then, with a sudden gust of air that seemed to come out of nowhere, the torches blew away, and reappeared in the little lanterns the Poes were holding. As they did so, the elevator sank into he ground, cutting off their passage.

"Great." Linebeck muttered. Tetra simply grit her teeth.

Lastly, the Poes cackled again, and with a swirl of their colour, they each disappeared through as door in the room.

"That's just perfect…" Tetra sighed as she spotted a now-unlocked door at the corner of the room. "Let's go that way." She motioned to the door. Linebeck sighed and followed her in.

As soon as they stepped in, the door locked. They both sighed, recognizing the type of room they were in.

"Mini-boss." Linebeck muttered, removing his sword. Tetra took out her twin scimitars and twirled them in her hands. As if on cue, the green Poe came out of a wall with her lantern, containing the green flame she'd stolen from the main room's torch.

Tetra twirled the scimitars once more, then attacked. The Poe simply floated away form her range and cackled in a shrill voice:

"_I am the youngest Poe, my name is Amy,_

_And you know you can't defeat me."_

"We'll see about that, freak." Tetra muttered, lunging again. The Poe narrowly dodged the curved blades of Tetra's weapon, but shrilled when Linebeck's sword pierced her through. Linebeck took the sword back out and watched as the dying Poe floated to the ground.

"_I am the youngest Poe, my name is Amy,_

_But my sisters WILL avenge me…"_

And with that, she disappeared in a puff of green smoke. Her lantern shattered into pieces as the flame inside floated off through the door. The door unlocked, and a path was revealed to the next one. Light gathered in the middle of the room, and a big chest appeared. Tetra headed over and opened the chest.

Her eyes lit up when she recognized the familiar object.

"Linebeck! It's a bow!" she squealed in delight at the wooden weapon. A quiver of fifty arrows was included with it.

"That's great! Now we can make long ranged attacks!" Linebeck smiled as he headed for the door. "Let's go now." he opened the door. Tetra soon followed.

The next room… was the exact same as the last one! Tetra and Linebeck soon guessed what that meant as they took out their weapons and waited for the second Poe.

"_I am the second Poe, my name is Beth,_

_And you just gave out your last breath!"_

The blue Poe sister appeared, twirling her lantern angrily.

"Guess she learned the news…" Tetra muttered as she took out her bow and arrows and aimed at her.

The Poe cackled as the shot passed right through her.

"Great…" Linebeck muttered as he lunged towards the Poe. The Poe swiftly dodged, not seeming amused now. She angrily twirled her lantern, throwing Linebeck to the ground. He grunted when he hit the ground and slid to a stop but couldn't move. His eyes drifted to the Poe floating above him, and to the lantern she held.

"_Paralysing effects…"_ he thought, eyes widening in horror. The Poe was about to bring her lantern down to smash Linebeck's skull open, but she abruptly stopped and shrilled. Linebeck dared to look up and noticed with a wide grin that an arrow was sticking in from her back. Soon after, Tetra shot out towards her and sliced her in half with her scimitar.

The ghost fell to the ground, panting. Her lantern broke, and her voice was barely above a whisper.

"_I am the second Poe, my name is Beth,_

_And my sisters' wrath will be your death…"_

And with that, she disappeared in a blur of blue smoke. The lantern shattered, and the blue flame waited in the air for a while before it flew away towards the main room through the door.

"Two down, two to go." Linebeck grinned as he got up, brushed himself off and headed for the door.

"You're saying it as if it was easy. Remember that I did all the work until now, mister." Tetra stuck a tongue out at him.

"Yeah, you wouldn't have if I hadn't been a distraction…" he pointed out, opening the door.

"You almost got yourself killed. Talk about a distraction." She grinned again, walking through the door.

"Stop talking. We got Poe ass to kick." Linebeck laughed as he closed the door behind them.

The next room had an ominous look to it. It was barely lit, simply showing a bare hallway. Nothing more. Just a hallway, with a red carpet. Too easy.

"Something's wrong…" Tetra whispered to herself. There was this sinking feeling she couldn't help.

Linebeck didn't hear her. Instead, he drew out his sword and started walking towards the door to the next room.

Tetra's sensitive ears twitched, feeling for any movements. Her eyes darted around the walls, the ground, the ceiling, looking for anything suspicious.

Suddenly, her eyes moved to a shadow on the ground. It stood right on top of Linebeck. And…it was growing? Her eyes suddenly widened in horror. The only time when a round shadow grew proportionally over something was when it was freefalling…

"Linebeck!" her scream was accompanied with a jump towards the pirate. He raised a brow, but grunted in pain as Tetra violently tackled him outta the way. As if on cue, something like a giant black hand dropped down and trapped her under its fingers. It lighted up in a green aura that overlapped its 'body', if you could say so, and Tetra's breathing narrowed. She felt her strenght draining away. She could feel no wounds…just…exhaustion… How she longed to sleep again…

"Link…" she whispered, then all went black.

As soon as the hand dropped on Tetra and overlapped her with what Linebeck deducted as some sort of poison, he drew out his sword and lunged at the creature. The hand hissed as it let go of Tetra and divided into three little hands that pounced on Linebeck. The quickly swung his sword, dispatching the first one, then the second, then the third.

Once all the little hands were dead, he grabbed Tetra and rushed out of the room just so other whatever-those-things-were didn't attack them again.

The next room was a Poe room for sure. But the Poe wasn't there yet, so Linebeck took the time to set Tetra down and check her pulse. It was steady. He sighed in relief and set his hand on her forehead.

Instead of getting a temperature reading, he received a flash of light in his mind, and a beautiful maiden with long golden hair and crystalline blue eyes in a dress appeared before him.

"Who are you?" he asked, enchanted by the maiden's beauty.

"I am Zelda…" she replied with a sweet voice.

"Zelda…" Linebeck breathed in awe.

"You want to save Tetra, don't you?" she suddenly asked, changing the subject.

"Definitely!" he agreed.

"Then defeat the Poe, then make her touch the Poe's fire before it disappears. What she has is a disease that cannot be cured normally. Find the Maiden, she will tell you more. Good luck."

And with that, she was already gone. Linebeck blinked to make sure he was awake, and was greeted with the damp walls of the temple. He checked on Tetra, then got up an grabbed her bow, slinging the quiver behind him as he walked to the middle of the circular room.

Then, a cackle was heard, and an orange Poe this time emerged from the walls.

"_I'm the third Poe sister, my name is Jo,_

_Prepare to endure my SORROW!"_

And with that, she floated up in the air, twirling her lantern menacingly at Linebeck.

He took out his sword and dove at the Poe, dodging her swings. Then, he slashed at the Poe, narrowly missing her. She threw fireballs at him, that Linebeck thankfully avoided them all.

"Whoa…That's new…" he thought as he gritted his teeth and avoided another onslaught of fireballs directed at him. Then, he shot up at the Poe and slashed right through her. Except the Poe reformed right before his eyes!

"_Stupid mortal, your weapon cannot defeat me,_

_Only the weapon this temple protects can save thee!" _she cackled.

The thought sprung up in Linebeck's mind. What an idiot, giving him the answers…

He sheathed his sword and took out his bow, knocking an arrow. Then, he aimed and released. The arrow pierced right through the Poe. She screeched as she thrashed in pain, dying. She released her lantern as it floated up in the air. With another look full of hatred towards Linebeck, she barely whispered.

"_The fairy bow…I can't believe you got it…" _she said as she screamed in frustration.

"_I'm the third Poe, my name is Joelle,_

_My sister will make your life your personal HELL!" _

She screeched angrily as she disappeared in a blur of orange smoke.

Linebeck quickly threw down the bow and grabbed Tetra, levelling her to the fire in the lantern. He took her hand gently, and extended it to the fire. Sparks were created as she touched it, and soon, the fire flew up and away towards the main room. Linebeck waited for a while until Tetra's eyes fluttered open and she brought her hand up to her head, groaning in pain. Dizzily, she got out of Linebeck's arms and looked at him.

"Where are we…?"

Linebeck gently grabbed her hand and took her to the next door.

"The Forest temple, remember? I just defeated the third Poe." He told her as he ran back for a second and came back with her bow, the Fairy Bow, the Poe had called it. "And this belongs to you, I assume?" he asked as he tossed her the bow. She caught it with a smile.

"Thanks." She swung it over her shoulder and strapped on the quiver she received from Linebeck as well. Then, he opened the door, and they both walked into the next room.

The dim lights of the temple's room were outmatched by the light in this room. The entire place sparkled like a garden outside. In fact, it DID look like a garden. Grassy ground, trees….and…what? Rotten flowers?

"Evil…" Tetra muttered as she unsheathed her scimitars and proceeded through the gardens. She spotted a dried up well in one corner, proving that some people used to live here before.

Her thoughts drifted away before the ground shook slightly. She looked up, alarmed, and almost immediately, a huge plant sprung up from the earth, snapping its fanged jaws at her. She screamed in surprise, jumping back, avoiding the carnivorous plant. It reared back, waiting for its prey.

Linebeck came next to her and helped her up. She dusted herself off and took out the boomerang she had acquired in the first temple and aimed at the vine that was apparently the monster's spine, since it held it up. She threw the boomerang, and it slashed right through the plant. She caught it when it came back and put it back in her pocket.

"Deku Baba…" Linebeck whispered as he eyed the gardens with a methodical eye. "There are many more. Let's get moving before they decided to pop out." He grabbed her wrist and lead her to the next door.

"That was easy enough." Tetra sighed in content as they stepped inside the next room, dimly lit once more. They blinked, getting their eyes adjusted to the darkness, then drew out their weapons as the now-familiar cackle of the last Poe sister was heard.

And she floated in from one of the walls, swinging her lantern menacingly. This last one was purple.

"_I am the Fourth Poe, Meg is my name,_

_Getting rid of you will be only a game!"_

She cackled maniacally as she disappeared from view. Tetra and Linebeck stood poised, but confused, ready for an attack. She reappeared at the middle of the room. Then, she split into four exact copies of herself.

"_Don't swing aimlessly ahead!_

_To defeat me, use your logic instead!"_

"Haha, thanks for the advice, Dumbass." Tetra grinned as she and Linebeck ran for the Poe. As soon as Tetra swung at one, it disappeared in a puff of smoke, followed by all the others. Meg reappeared a little further, cackling as she twirled her lantern again, and split into four of them.

"How can we tell the difference?" Linebeck asked as the four 'Meg' s twirled. Tetra watched them twirl, and realized that one of them twirled an extra spin.

One of them turned one more time. Try that one! She pointed at the one at North and drew her bow. Linebeck stood poised with his sword. Her arrow was fitted, aimed and cast perfectly. The tip shredded through air and planted itself right into the real Meg. The three other copies disappeared in a puff of purple smoke.

The real Meg shrieked, and accented that as Linebeck slashed her in half with his sword. She had spasms as she rose in the air, trying to hold on, but to no avail, her lantern shattered, and she fell to the ground.

"I'm the last Poe, my name is Meg,

Our master will not rest until you're dead…"

She whispered weakly her last phrase as she closed her eyes and disappeared in a blur of purple smoke. The fire in her lantern rose in the air and flew right past Tetra and Linebeck, into the next door. Linebeck raised a brow. That meant…

"The main room's just up ahead Tet! Let's go!" he cheered as he opened the door. Tetra followed, rolling her eyes amusedly.

The next 'room' was actually the main room, with a view from a balcony. Right in front of them stood a massively decorated chest, announcing a Boss Key. Linebeck sighed and opened it, pocketing the boss Key inside.

Tetra looked around and spotted a crystal on the other side of the room. Almost instinctively, she fitted an arrow and aimed at the crystal. Then, she let it sail through the air. It met its target as the crystal became deep blue, and stairs emerged from the side of the balcony, leading to the bottom floor of the main room. There was a beeping sound, and the two pirates realized that it was timed.

They both jumped on the stairs and quickly ascended to the bottom. They hit the floor right when the timer stopped, and the stairs retracted.

Now, something was different, and they both noticed.

"The flames are lit!" Tetra gasped, looking at the four coloured magical flames on the golden torches. In the middle…

"And that elevator thing is up as well!" Linebeck pointed out as they both walked to the elevator. It seemed to lead deeper into the ground, as in some kind of basement.

"Should we step in?" Tetra asked, confused.

"Guess so…" Linebeck agreed, pulling Tetra along as they both stepped into the elevator. The elevator suddenly started on its own, moving down, taking them to the lower level.

As soon as they stepped off the elevator, it sprung back up, leaving them stranded on the bottom floor. And what a floor. It was basically a gallery of identical paintings. Some sort of landscape, grey mostly, with a few scattered trees, and a path coming down in perspective.

"Okay…"Linebeck looked around for any clue on what to do next. None.

Suddenly, there was a rumble in the ground. Tetra whipped around to see a very familiar figure.

"GANONDORF!" she screamed in shock. Wasn't that evil minister dead already?

The figure of Ganondorf didn't reply, but rose into the air, grabbing a staff that came out of nowhere. Then, a horse was created out of the shadows, and bucked in the air, running into one of the paintings. Ganondorf's weird replica ran off in perspective in the painting, disappearing at the border.

"Where'd he go?" Tetra asked, whirling around, bow and arrows poised.

"There!" Linebeck signalled as he pointed at one of the paintings. The horse bearing Ganondorf's replica was charging through the painting. Tetra knocked an arrow and waited for the horse to start emerging before she released it. The arrow sank into the horse, and it whinnied. The Phantom Ganon charged out of the painting, and it sank into another one, riding away again.

"There he is!" Linebeck sighted him again as he pointed at the painting behind Tetra. She knocked another arrow, and waited for the horse so emerge so she could shoot, but, arrived at the border of the painting, the horse turned around and ran back from where it came.

"What the hell?" Tetra exclaimed as Linebeck whirled around, spotting the Phantom emerging from another picture.

"Duck!" he screamed as they both dove out of the way of the electric attack the Phantom unleashed as he jumped from one painting to the other.

"He tricked us." Tetra groaned. "Stay on your guard. Spot the two paintings that have him in it." Tetra ordered as she aimed another arrow at a painting with the Phantom coming at it. She tensed up when it turned at the border and whirled around, shooting an arrow where Linebeck was pointing. The Phantom ditched the horse and started floating around in the air, carrying his lightning staff.

He waved the rod in his hand, conjuring up another lightning spell. Tetra shot an arrow at it, but the arrow broke even before it touched the Phantom. Tetra gasped and put the bow on her back before drawing her scimitars and waiting to block the attack. Then, the Phantom released his attack, aiming it straight for Tetra.

Almost as a reflex, she put her scimitars protectively up to her face and simply watched as the attack collided with the steel, and reflected back.

"Whoa." Tetra looked up, shocked, as the Phantom's attack rebounded back to him and shocked him full force. The Phantom cried out in pain and it looked at Tetra angrily and charged up another attack.

"Hit the ball back to him! Let's play badminton with this thing!" she grinned as she swung her scimitar at the electricity attack and sent it back to Phantom Ganondorf. He deflected with his staff, and it went to Linebeck. He swung and sent it back, then back to Tetra. Tetra swung, sending it back to the Phantom, who sent it back to Linebeck.

The little game of badminton continued between the three until the Phantom faltered, and got hit by his own attack. That's when it got really angry, and started building up his energy. Both pirates' eyes widened, knowing that an orb that big would be impossible to deflect.

Before they had any other thoughts about it, the Phantom unleashed its attack at the one who seemed weaker. In this case, his mind acted a bit sexist, and he aimed at Tetra as the weak female nuisance. Her eyes widened in horror as she put up her scimitars, knowing it was useless. The orb hit her scimitars, pushing on them. Soon, the steel cracked, and shattered, and the orb was free to shock Tetra.

She screamed in pain as she fell down, twitching. Her vision was soon engulfed in darkness.

"Tetra!" Linebeck screamed as she fell to the ground, limp. As the Phantom was too busy laughing, he picked up his sword, and violently threw it at the Phantom.

The Phantom didn't have time to react as Linebeck's perfect aim paid off, and the sword pierced the Phantom right through. He screamed in pain as he rose in the air, white electricity crackling all over him. With one last cry, he blew up in deep purple smoke and disappeared.

Linebeck didn't need a signal to run for Tetra. He quickly kneeled down next to her to pick her up, but as soon as he touched her, there was a static contact. He removed his hand to rub it, then, with a determined gaze, he put his arms around her and picked her up. Despite being as light as a feather, she felt like a dead weight in his arms.

His eyes darted around the room, looking for the exit. He spotted an almost invisible door hiding behind moss. He quickly picked up his pace as he hastily opened the door and ran inside.

He guessed all Maiden rooms were typical since this one had the same structure as the one before as well. A simple, clean room, no furnishing, just moss, crawling up the walls. They gave a sort of…glow… to the room. And of course, in the middle, the Maiden of Forest, in her usual coloured crystal.

Linebeck ran for the Maiden, realizing only when he got close that she bas but a mere child.

"Maiden?" he asked, unsure.

"Linebeck. I see you have made it. Welcome to my sanctuary. I am Saria, Maiden of Forest." She greeted them, eyeing Tetra worriedly.

"Maiden, can you help?" he asked, nudging Tetra gently.

"I will see what I can do." She said. Her crystal broke into shards as she landed gracefully on the floor and set her hand on Tetra's body. She closed her eyes, then shook her head sadly.

"No. I cannot heal it. Only one special person in her world can heal it." She sighed.

"Who is it?" he asked, hopeful.

"I cannot tell. I just know that he/she is a very special person to her. She would do anything for that person. You call it… 'Lovesickness', maybe. But it doesn't mean anything, really…" she sighed as she checked around.

"Alright… Thanks." Linebeck thanked her, somewhat confused.

"You're very welcome. But this is where we must part ways. I must go before Bellum finds out I've escaped." She smiled sweetly with her childish smile.

"Very well." Linebeck sighed, discouraged.

"Do not despair Linebeck. I'm sure you'll find that person." She smiled again, bowing. Then, a green glow claimed her, and she disappeared.

"Hope you're right…" Linebeck sighed as a blue pool of magic appeared in front of him, leading back to their ship.

"Don't worry Tetra. I'm positively sure we'll find whoever can cure you." He smiled at her unconscious form as he stepped inside the pool of magic. A blue glow claimed them both, and they floated up in the air, disappearing.

"I promise…"

*************

**Author Notes:**

**Yeah...Pretty short... Around 4500 words _ It's just that I felt so bad when I came back from my grandma's that I rushed it. Ok, I gotta go now, I'm sorry if this was too short . Okay people, reviews make my world go round ^_^ Bye :D**


	12. I Start To Talk In My Sleep

**Author Notes:**

**I don't have no alibis, so before you kill me, read my notes.**

**You know I'm sorry for not getting this out earlier. It just gets boring. Sorry ^^; I'm just in lack of motivation... It's not your fault, it's mine. It just doesn't seem such an appealing project now that I'm writing Just Like Royalty...**

**Yep, so now you know the name of my newest fic XD It is supposed to have 16 chapters, I'm currently starting chapter 10 O_o It's amazing how fast a subject you like can be written O_o Hehe ^^;**

**Okay, enough babbling, now you can kill me for being late. So, hope you can enjoy this chapter! :/ **

*****************************************

They reappeared on the deck of their ship. With a final rumble, throwing great waves everywhere, the island was re-submerged in the water. Linebeck simply watched as the majestic trees disappeared under the waves.

Then, once the island was completely gone, he sighed and turned around, putting Tetra on the wooden planks. Then, he headed for the wheel, moving the ship away. The gossip stone would call anytime now…

"Linebeck!"

Ah, there it was. Linebeck dipped his hand into his pocket and took out the shining gossip stone. Inside was Jolene, looking at him intently.

"Linebeck!" she squealed childishly.

"Jolene, babe!" he exclaimed, laughing. She chuckled as she sent him a kiss through the stone.

"Linebeck! I was worried! Didja finish your temple yet?" she asked.

"Yeah, we just awakened Saria, Maiden of Forest." He grinned proudly.

"Cool! We awakened Kaliana, Maiden of Water." she grinned back. Then, she turned her head around and nodded to someone.

"Hey, Link wants to talk to Tetra." She said. Linebeck instantly froze.

"Uh… she had a hard battle, she's sleeping now…" he rolled his eyes innocently.

"Oh." She stopped for a second and listened to the side. "He still wants to see her." She said. He bit his lip, but turned the stone towards Tetra, sprawled on the floor.

Jolene moved out of the way, and Link came in.

"Tet." He called. She didn't move. "Tetra." He called again. No answer. He suddenly rolled his eyes and started whistling a tune. Jolene and Linebeck recognized it quickly. It was called Zelda's Lullaby. Link had composed it as a birthday gift to Tetra for her 15th birthday, and Astrid had added magical powers to it. Every time he played it, whenever, wherever, she would get into a telepathic connection with him.

"Tetra." He called. She didn't reply at first. He furrowed his brows, but kept calling.

"Tetra."

This time, he heard a groan in his mind.

"Link?"

"Hey Tet, it's me." He smiled. She didn't reply for a while.

"Link… I feel weird…" she said faintly. He raised a brow, but kept talking.

"What's wrong?" he asked, concerned.

"My head hurts." She grunted.

"What's going on?" he asked again.

"I… I feel faint. I'm asleep Link. Just not the way you know. Wake me up before I never wake up again…" she grunted in pain, then Link's mind vanished.

"Please…"

And his eyes snapped open. He viciously stole the stone from Jolene and almost screamed into it.

"TETRA! DON'T YOU DARE LEAVE ME! Listen to me here! Don't you DARE die in front of me. Hold on. Hold on right there, I'm coming!" he growled aggressively.

"Link, you're talking to a sleeping girl." Jolene pulled him away.

"She's not sleeping, she's unconscious, and she might never wake up again." he growled at her. She gasped and fell back.

"No…"

"Astrid!" Link called out in the open. He waited for a while, the, with a turquoise flurry of magic, Astrid appeared next to him.

"You have faired well, Heroes. How may I be of assistance?" she asked.

"Astrid, I need to get to Tetra NOW!" Link growled. She raised a brow, but shook her head.

"I cannot. You are still weak from your battle, you will not survive the dimension shift." She sighed sadly. He growled again, and said.

"I don't care, I have to try. Her LIFE is in danger."

"Please Link, reconsider…"

"NO! I WON'T LET HER DIE! I NEED TO GET THERE!" he yelled. Astrid was taken aback, but then sighed.

"Alright, I will. But my power is running low, and all I will be able to give you is five minutes. Be ready to whatever you wanna do." She rolled her eyes, then extended her arms towards Jolene and Link. He braced himself against what was to come, and with one final sigh, Astrid released her magic. It hit them both full force, and they disappeared in flurries of turquoise.

**XXX…XXX**

Linebeck was taken aback from Link's harsh tone towards Astrid. Never before had he seen him so… blunt and violent…

He sighed, fixing his gaze towards Tetra. She hadn't changed at all. Suddenly, there were two flurries of turquoise next to her. His eyes widened in surprise as Link and Jolene 'semi-appeared' next to Tetra. While Jolene's semi-transparent form ran for him, Link's semi-transparent form leaned over Tetra and kneeled next to her.

"Tetra. Tetra wake up and talk to me." He ordered fiercely. She didn't move.

On the other side, Jolene and Linebeck fell into each others' arms, kissing and hugging fiercely.

"I missed you so much."

"Me as well."

On Link's side, no luck. Tears were slowly shimmering down his cheeks. He knew his time was running out.

"Tetra, please." He whispered, leaning down and kissing her lips tenderly. She didn't move. His tears accented.

"This can't be happening. He put his arms around her and hugged her, crying into her shoulder. "Tetra, please, come back to me." More time ran out. This couldn't end like this!

"Oh Goddesses…" he cried, pressing his lips down on hers'. She suddenly groaned.

"TETRA!" All three of them looked at her. She groaned again.

"Oh Nayru, Sweet Farore, dear Din! Tetra!" he whispered, leaning down with another kiss. It seemed like the more he accented, the more she drew into his strenght, the weaker he felt, but she slowly came back to life. If it meant giving her her life back, Link would've given anything. At that point, his life would gladly been thrown away to save hers.

As his kisses became more demanding, as if taking advantage of the time they had left, her head moved around. Astrid suddenly appeared behind them, making a move that their time was up. Link sighed, and pushed his lips one last time against hers before he smiled at her, and he disappeared in a flurry of turquoise. Tetra smiled once, then her head fell back down again, unconscious.

**XXX…XXX**

The blurs of the transportation were too much for him. His head spun, accompanied from the weakness from his previous battles. His wounds burned through his bandages. Astrid was right when she said he was too weak to endure the teleportation. He felt his consciousness fluttering. He could only try and fail to keep his drooping eyelids open.

From the corner of his eye, he could spot Jolene, flying high speed towards their final destination, the Great Fairy's Fountain in Termina. Hoping that all the darkness shrouding his mind meant unconsciousness, he let his spirit slip through his fingers, and he passed away.

Soon though, the tunnel of swirling colours ended, and Jolene and the unconscious Link found themselves at the entrance to the Great Fairy's fountain. Grabbing Link, she hurriedly walked inside to be safe from Bellum while they recovered. She herself felt very weak.

Astrid soon appeared next to them and sighed. She closed her eyes, inspecting Link, then opened them with a relieved expression.

"I knew he wouldn't make it through the teleportation. He has an iron will not to die. I'm surprised he didn't get any worse actually. And thanks to him, Tetra is safe. You have done a great job. But now I must return to my sisters. Hopefully, the two remaining will join us soon enough…" she sighed sadly as her body was overlapped in turquoise.

"Okay Astrid. Thanks for everything, we really liked this reunion." Jolene thanked her. She nodded, and disappeared in her turquoise magic.

Jolene then went back to the Gossip Stone. Linebeck was still staring intently at her.

"Link's gone lights out, so I'll wait just a while before going back on track. We know exactly where the next dungeon is, so you guys better get searching." She suggested. Linebeck nodded.

"Jolene?" he asked.

"Yeah?"

"I love you, you know that?"

"Of course. Good luck with your next temple. Love ya."

"Love you too. Bye."

And with that, the stones shut off. Jolene sighed, and put it away. Then, she sat down. All she needed to do now was sleep until Link woke up. The Great Fairy's Fountain would keep them safe until they recovered.

Laying down on the floor next to Link, she closed her eyes and yawned. Her thoughts drifted back to their next temple, and she slowly found her sleep. Soon, the world was nothing but darkness to her eyes.

**XXX…XXX**

Linebeck put away the Gossip Stone, and took out the map. He intently scanned it, looking at the next cross. It was pretty far away from them… He sighed. He needed to sail a lot more than usual to get there.

"Well, better get going!" he chuckled as he put the map away and grabbed the steering wheel. Waiting until the anchor withdrew, he looked back down at Tetra. She was now sleeping peacefully.

"Maybe that's what the Maiden meant by 'only one person can heal her'…" he thought out loud. A clang on the side of the ship told him that the anchor was up to the top. He smiled, and turned the ship around. There was a temple to be found and a Maiden to be saved.

**XXX…XXX**

Link groaned as he tiredly rubbed his eyes. Next to him, Jolene was waiting patiently for him to recover and get up. He quickly pushed himself up on his feet and looked at her.

"We're back?"

"We're back."

"So now where to?" he asked.

"Well, I scanned the map. Remember that volcano we went to in the beginning?" she asked.

"Yeah." He replied with a nod.

"Well, there's supposedly a village at the base. A village with a graveyard. The temple is located in the graveyard." She sighed.

"Great. What a nice location. I have a feeling that this temple will be the coolest of all…" he growled sarcastically.

"Hey, come on. You're just making it worse in your head now." she grinned.

"Alright, alright, I get it. Let's go." He smiled. Jolene nodded, and with a single signal, they ran out of the Great Fairy's fountain, into the wilderness of Termina Field.

---

Like half an hour later, Link and Jolene finally made it to the village. Slashing at one random Tektite that decided to follow them, they proceeded into the abandonned village.

The wind blew dust everywhere. Everything was desolate. They slowly walked inside, watching for any enemies. Nothing seemed to disturb the silence of the abandonned village.

Soon enough, they got to the main square. What seemed like the remains of a tree stood in the middle. Link and Jolene looked around. Even if the houses were old and rusty, it was until now the biggest proof of late life on this desolate world. They sighed as they took the path to the back of the village, where the graveyard was supposedly located.

A few minutes later, they were staring at the arch leading inside the graveyard. They silently nodded to each other and walked in.

Already inside, they saw the many tombstones everywhere. They bowed their heads in respect for the spirits of the dead as they proceeded through, looking for something looking like and entrance to a temple. Raising his head once, Link noticed a ledge sticking out of the wall. Raising a brow, he silently nudged Jolene and pointed at the ledge. She scanned it for a second, then nodded. They both headed towards the ledge.

Once there, Link contemplated a way to get up. Soon, an idea sprouted in his head. He motioned at Jolene to get near, and he put his hands on each other, bending down, providing a foothold for Jolene. She immediately caught on as she set her foot on his hands, and with a burst from both of them, she jumped up and gripped the borders of the ledge.

She grunted as she pulled herself up, panting once she was safely up. Then, she looked down at Link. She wasn't very muscled, but not completely hopeless either. Maybe she could help him climb…?

She extended one of her hands towards him, using the other to strongly grip a tree. Then, when Link grabbed on, she pulled. No avail. She wasn't strong enough to lift him.

She let go of his hand, and let go of the tree, sighing. Wait a minute…

TREE!

She quickly took out the clawshot and threw it down to Link. He grabbed it confused. Jolene then pointed at the tree. His eyes lit up as he smiled, nodded, and equipped the clawshot. Then, he aimed at the tree, and shot.

The chain made a huge noise as it shot. Both Jolene and Link blanched.

Suddenly, a mass of Poes rose from the graves and headed for them, screeching angrily.

"Woops…" Link chuckled sheepishly as he quickly reeled in, getting away from the first Poe's grasp. Soon enough though, the Poe army at the bottom of the ledge amassed, waiting for the disturbance to come down so they could get rid of it.

"I think we made them angry." Link chuckled.

"Jee, ya think, Link?" Jolene asked as she took his hand and dragged him inside the cave that gave in from the ledge.

Inside, there were a few dozen torches. Link and Jolene looked at them curiously. In the middle was a raised altar.

"Think we gotta light these up all at once?" Link asked.

"Sure looks like it." She sighed. Link proceeded to the middle altar. He was about to look around for clue, when his left hand stung really badly. He bit his lip as not to cry out in pain, and looked down at his aching hand. The Triforce of Courage was blinking rapidly on it.

As if connected, which Link was sure they were, the Triforce on the altar started blinking as well. Soon though, the two light sources shut off at the same time, leaving nothing but pitch black.

Suddenly, out of the darkness, came out a jewel of fiery red. Link, mesmerized by the jewel, grabbed it. A searing heat burned through his entire body, and he gave a brief cry of pain, then it all ended.

Jolene ran next to him as he fell to his knees. He was breathing heavily and sweating.

"Link! What happened?" she asked.

"The Goddess…" he stammered. "Din… She gave me her power…" he shook his head, bringing up his left hand. The Triforce of Power was red, and was standing still on the back of his hand.

"What do you mean?" she asked, confused. He shook his head and pushed her away gently.

"Get away."

She nodded, surprised, then stepped away from the torches, standing outside the range of anything he might unleash. He sighed, and stepped up on the platform. Then, he concentrated. The red part on his Triforce blinked rapidly, and he grunted as he put his hands up in the air and slammed them down on the ground.

As soon as his hands made contact with the ground, a ring of fire erupted from his hands, travelling all the way around the room. Jolene jerked in surprise, but the fire didn't reach her. Soon enough, all the torches were lit. The wall in front of them made a slight grunt, then it slight open. Link turned back to Jolene smiling.

"And there we go."

Jolene snapped out of her trance as she shook her head.

"How did you…?"

"Din's Fire. It's a spell of the mighty Goddess of Power." He replied as they both walked to the entrance.

"Okay then…" she stopped a few feet away from the entrance.

"Bet you it's the Shadow Temple." He grinned childishly.

"What else could it have been, dufus?" she growled as she grabbed his arm and dragged him inside.

The darkness of the Shadow Temple engulfed their bodies as the wall slid back down behind them…

---

The sea was peaceful as Linebeck sailed towards their next destination, the next temple. It was located in the middle of an island called the Isle of Gust. It wasn't very far away now.

His thoughts were broken when he heard a noise coming from down the deck. He peered over the wheel and saw Tetra, moaning in pain as she rubbed her head. He chuckled, and called her out.

"Hey Tetra!"

She immediately lifted her head, looking at him, then smiling, waving. He smiled back. Then, she got up and headed for him.

"Hey. So what happened while I was gone?" she asked.

"Oh, well, Link and Jolene dropped by for a semi-holographic visit for five minutes, and Link cured you from whatever you had." He shrugged. Her eyes widened.

"LINK CAME AND YOU DIDN'T WAKE ME UP!?" she screamed.

"Well, you didn't wanna. That's the whole reason he came. He risked his life through the teleportation just to come save you." He shrugged, still calm. Her traits finally relaxed.

"Oh." She simply said.

"Hey, don't worry. He made out with you if that's what you're afraid of." Linebeck smirked.

"Linebeck!"

---

They finally made it to the Isle of Gust a few hours later. It was fine sailing until there, but the Island was said to be magic. That's why the wind blew fiercely around the island, creating huge wind currents that blew almost anything out.

As they set foot on the island, they both noticed that they stepped in sand. Raising a brow, they continued through the vast desert.

But as they advanced, the wind of the Isle of Gust blew the sand around harder, and soon, they were caught in a sandstorm.

"Damn, I can't see anything!" Tetra grunted as she protected her face with her arms.

"Me neither, so don't complain and keep walking!" Linebeck gritted his teeth as they pushed through the storm.

---

The storm didn't get better. They were left wandering in the desert, lost in the huge mass of sand.

Though, at one point, something slid past Tetra's eyes. She groaned as she squinted her eyes to see. It was a….

"POE!" she shrieked. Linebeck quickly looked at her.

"Look! A Poe!" she pointed at the ghost. It chuckled and twirled around.

"I don't see any ghosts…" Linebeck frowned.

"Stupid Triforce of Wisdom." She thought with a sigh as she caught Linebeck's hand, leading him to the Poe. As soon as they were close though, it flew away, stopping a few feet further.

"I think… it's showing us the way…" she realized. Linebeck chuckled.

"Well then, don't just stand there! Follow it!" he growled amusedly. Tetra didn't need a second thought about it; she was already running for the Poe, dragging Linebeck behind as well. He grunted and protested, but his voice fell on deaf ears. Now only concentrated on the voice, Tetra dragged him across the desert, hopefully out of the sandstorm as well.

---

At first, it seemed like it would never end. But soon afterwards, the sandstorm subsided. Instead, calm sands were left. That's when the Poe disappeared. Tetra let go of Linebeck, who immediately started rubbing his wrist.

"Oooowww…" he groaned. Tetra chuckled.

"Sorry."

"You'd better be."

"Shut up, I think I see the temple." Tetra suddenly gasped, pointing not too far away. There, emerging from the sand, a majestic statue of a woman, carved in the rock. Both her hands were extended in front of her, flat with her palms. She was definitely the Goddess of Sand, Patron Deity of the late Gerudo race, Nabooru.

Linebeck rubbed his eyes, and looked at it.

"You know, I think you're right!" he eluded.

"Since when aren't I?"

"Shut up and keep walking."

And so, laughing, they walked towards the temple. The atmosphere around them was so thick, it felt like the spirits of the deceased Gerudo tribe were hovering around them. It felt creepy, but they continued nonetheless.

After a while of walking through the sand, and killing off a few desert carnivores called Leevers, they finally made it to the entrance, at a stone arch over a stone stairway. Standing in awe at the beautiful architecture, they stood gaped for a while, until a wind carrying sand blew them out of their trance.

"It's beautiful…" Linebeck whispered.

"So it is… One more reason to save this temple and purge it of evil." Tetra giggled.

"Right. Let's do this." She said. Then, amusedly holding out her hand, Linebeck put his palm in it, and, laughing like ten year olds, they skipped inside the Spirit Temple.

***********

**Author Notes:**

**The last part was DEFINETELY NOT a LinebeckxTetra scene. Just friendship. So don't get any ideas there .**

**Okay, short, but I'm mostly anxious to write my other fic, the one I talked to you about int he last A/N's. Okay, so, Just Like Royalty. It's actually going smoother than this fic O_o It's already at 48 000 words, or around something like that, and I didn't even realize it was that long until right this second, when I checked the word count O_O**

**But enough spoilers. I think I'll get the prologue up soon, just to wet the appetites, so when I get it out, you should know that I've written past chapter 13. Yep, I'm gonna start posting when I write chapter 12 or 13, so that my story won't end up on semi-hiatus like this one *shoots herslef because she said this story was on semi-hiatus***

**Yeah, I know this chapter, as well as the one before, were very short compared tot he first ones, but it's because, like I said, I feel like writing Just Like Royalty instead of this. Thankfully, I set my mind today that I would write this no matter what XD If I ever get time after writing JlR, I'll revamp this, promise. And, if I ever get ideas on oneshots, I'll be sure to publish them between chapters too ;) And I'm accepting requests :D Cuz I need ideas for oneshots ^_^ So I'm making free oneshots for anyone who wants one, any genre, any rating :D Just gimme ideas, please? *puppy eyes***

**Okay, I think I ranted enough for now XD Back to writing Just Like Royalty while listening to awesome Kingdom Hearts 2 soundtracks (mostly the Simple and Clean Remix and the Sanctuary remix :3 Roxas is frickin HOT! :O) AND THE CARAMELLDANSEEEN!!!!!!!! XD Yeah, I'm weird like that...**

**And speaking of Caramelldansen, why don't you check otu this random piece of fanart I drew, hunh? Please? Just replace the (dot) by .**

**www(dot)crazy-about-loz(dot)deviantart(dot)com/art/LoZ-Caramelldansen-Coloured-111620478**

**Isn't it the cutest X3 Yeah, I'm weird. Oh well, please review :D Thanks for reading guys! ;)**


	13. Our Souls Are Divided: Spirit Temple

**Author Notes:**

**Warning: A/N contains strong language XD:**

**Omg, I'm finally done with this fucking dungeon WEEEEEE!!! One more to go XD Goddamn TT__TT I haven't even started planning the fucking Shadow Temple O_o But this is just to show you I'm not discontinuing BtT, HELL NO! To everyone who doesn't know, It's against my fanfic-writing-religion to discontinue fics XD For anyone who wants to convert, it's called Zellinism XD. Yesh, I had to make my own religion for ethic classes at school, so I made a religion called Zellinism XD Din, Farore and Nayru were my Goddesses XD So now you know how much of a Zelda freak I am XDD**

**So yeah. Hope you liked this chapter, it was stalled for two weeks, but written in three days. It's amazing how fast I can write when someone is threatening to kick me behind my back (Yeah, I asked my sister to kick me if she saw I wasn't writing BtT XD) So yeah. With this, I leave you to read this long-awaited chapter ^^; Enjoy :D**

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As they stepped inside the Spirit Temple, Linebeck and Tetra noticed the many holes in the walls, revealing sunlight, shining down over them. Tetra raised a brow, but not finding any use for them, she just looked around the wide entrance room.

There were stairs right in front of them. On both sides of the stairs stood protective snakes with Ancient Hylian dialect engraved on them.

"It's so pretty in here…" Tetra whispered in awe as she headed for the stairs. Linebeck nodded and silently followed, still amazed at the beautiful, advanced architecture. Once in the middle of the room, they both stopped and looked around.

"What now?" Tetra asked. The only way out was a pathway that was blocked by a huge block, probably to keep non-Gerudo intruders out.

"I don't know…" Linebeck sighed, he too looking intently at the silver-grey block, studying it.

"What if we try pushing that block thing?" she suggested.

"Could work, or it's too heavy. Either way, we can try." He shrugged. Tetra giggled and headed for the block. First, she looked it over until Linebeck joined her.

"Okay then…" she sighed, putting her hands against the block. It seemed like it would never budge. "On three…"

"One…two…" Linebeck pushed his hands over the block. They both took a deep breath.

"THREE!" Tetra exclaimed, pushing. At the same time, Linebeck applied his weight on the block. For a few seconds, it just stayed where it was, then, it dislodged.

"Keep pushing!" Tetra encouraged as she pushed as hard as she could.

Slowly, but steadily, the block moved backwards. The painful and exhausting process seemed to last forever until the block finally stopped and fell into a hole in the ground specially designed for it. That's when Tetra fell to her knees, panting, arms hung down limply next to her.

"Goddess dammit, I'm NEVER doing that again." she groaned. Despite his weariness, Linebeck laughed.

"Oh course. Come on, the passage is clear, we'd better get moving." He added, turning towards the newly uncovered passage.

"Sure sure, easy for you to say. You're a man, strong and blablablah." She mimicked with a smirk as she stood up, straightened and walked down the path, with Linebeck following closely behind.

---

The next room was even larger. A huge statue of the Goddess of Sand, Nabooru, was once again guarding the place. On one of her extended hands, the two pirates could see the boss door, locked with a huge chain, and a brownish-orange shackle that had the Spirit insignia on it, two spirits floating contrary to each other.

Then, on the other side was a rock cube like the one they pushed before. Linebeck and Tetra groaned, just by looking at it, guessing what they were supposed to do.

"Great. Since we got no boss key, and can't even reach it yet, that means we have to push that through, right?" Tetra asked, hoping for a miracle.

"Hate to break it to you, but yeah. Let's get to work." Linebeck smirked, heading for the rock. Tetra followed, wailing at the sky "Why Nayru? Why?"

---

After a few minutes of intense effort, the block was pushed away. Tetra fell to the ground once more, exhausted out of her wits.

"My arms are gonna be pudding when we get back to Link and Jolene." She groaned. Linebeck laughed, trying to catch his breath, wiping some sweat off his forehead.

"Now that you're done complaining, can we move on? Who knows? Jolene and Link are probably gotten even farther than us while you sit here and whine." He shrugged. She got up and glared daggers at him before turning around and walking into the newfound path, grumbling under her breath.

The next room was nothing but a simple, dark hallway. A red carpet lined the floor leading to the next room. The ceiling wasn't visible in the darkness. Tetra raised a brow.

"This is too easy." Linebeck remarked, beating her to the assumption.

"Wait, this looks familiar." She groaned. Her Triforce awakened, giving her the magic necessary to cast a ball of Din's Fire. Once charged up enough, she threw it at the ground a little farther away from them.

Almost immediately, a Wallmaster crashed down on the spot where the fire ball had dissipated. Once it realized it was just a trick, it reeled back into the dark ceiling. Linebeck's eyes narrowed.

"I knew something was wrong." He mumbled. Tetra rolled her eyes and pointed back at the spot.

"I'll get it back down, you shoot it with an arrow." She said. Linebeck nodded and took out the bow and grabbed an arrow from the quiver. He nodded once he cocked it and aimed it at the same spot as Tetra.

Once they were both set, Tetra charged up her fireball once more. Linebeck tightened his grip on the bow.

Then, the fireball shot. It reached its target on the ground as the carpet burned out again. It was Linebeck's turn now. The Wallmaster came crashing down on the fire, trying to find its prey. Before it had a chance to do anything, though, Linebeck shot.

The arrow pierced right through the monster, flying out the other way and planting itself in the wall. The black hand screeched in a high-pitched sound, causing the two pirates to close their ears in pain. Once it stopped, though, the monster burned out in greenish-grey smoke.

"I'd rather run than find out if there are any more." Tetra rubbed her temples once the supersonic screeching stopped.

"Good idea." Linebeck grumbled, putting the bow away. Without even giving each other a signal, the two pirates jumped into the open, running as fast as possible towards the door. As they ran, they felt the weight of other Wallmasters crash where they had stepped before. This only accented their speed. Once they finally reached the door, Linebeck quickly opened it and they both ran in, slamming it closed right when another hand grabbed the air in the area they were standing in a second ago.

The next room was kinda tricky. Tetra surveyed it quickly. Holes were dug everywhere in the floor. The beams of wood that connected each other were thin, and the drop was deep and dark. Both pirates seriously didn't wanna try it.

"Now what? Is this a maze?" Linebeck asked, taking a step forward. As soon as he stepped though, there was a flurry of fire in the middle of the room, on one of the beams, blocking the path to the next door. Linebeck growled in annoyance and removed his bow once more. Tetra watched intently as he knocked an arrow and shot it. To their infinite surprise, the arrow just flew through the monster. It seemed to smirk as it threw a fireball back at them. They just ducked low under it, thankfully narrowly avoiding it.

Once up, Tetra's eyes narrowed.

"Should I try magic?" she asked, shaking her head a bit.

Linebeck studied the situation shortly. "Yeah, go ahead."

Tetra nodded, and concentrated. Soon a fire ball formed in her hand. The monster didn't have time to think too much before the magic was hurled at it. The impact was huge. The entire being was engulfed in the fire, screeching madly. Tetra and Linebeck closed their ears once more to block it out until it blew up.

"That's done with…" Tetra sighed as she took the first step on the beam. Though a burst of fire made her flinch, and she fell back, tripping. She wondered if the pit had a bottom until she felt a hand holding her arm. She looked up at Linebeck, smiling while he held her hanging over the abyss.

She sighed in relief as she pulled herself up, helped by Linebeck. Once up and safe, she inspected the new monster. It was too far to reach by magic, and stepping on the beams could be dangerous. Apparently, fire was their weakness. The only source of fire here was the torch…

That was –what a 'coincidence'- located in a perfect angle with the monster. Tetra smirked. Whoever made this temple sure was stupid.

"Linebeck, fire an arrow through that torch. My magic can't reach it." Tetra pointed. Linebeck nodded and cocked an arrow.

"Here we go." He chuckled before he released. The arrow sailed clean in the air, passing through the torch and catching on fire. Then, it stuck itself right in the monster. The creature trashed, screeching once more. By now, Tetra and Linebeck had learned to close their ears, and got no troubles. Once the creature exploded in a burst of fire, Tetra looked up. The bars on the next door had lifted. She smiled.

"Let's move out, Linebeck." She winked. Linebeck put his bow away and followed her as they precariously crossed the beams to the other side without any troubles. Once there, Tetra breathed out a sigh of relief and opened the door. Linebeck followed her as they left the maze room behind and entered the next one.

The next one was pretty large, with a few pillars scattered around the place. An empty armour suit stood limp in front of the next door. As soon as they stepped inside, though, metal bars slid over the door. Tetra gritted her teeth. Another mini-boss room.

"Wonder what this mini-boss is." Linebeck said in advance.

"We'll never know if we don't meet it. Let's move." She said, walking towards the empty armour suit. Suddenly, a breeze flew into the room, and in from thin air came two old hags, flying on brooms. One had hair made of crackling fire, the other had hair made out of freezing ice. They both cackled for a moment.

"What is this?" the icy-haired one cackled. "A visitor, Koume?" she asked to the fiery-haired one. She cackled in response.

"Yes, Kotake! When was the last time we had a visitor?" she flew around on her broom. This was enough for Tetra and Linebeck to unsheathe their scimitars.

"What? Maybe about a millennia ago? Maybe two?" Kotake circled around the duo, who tensed.

"Yes, the last one was that pathetic Hero, who failed, and condemned his country, the same one that is now shattered into pieces!" Koume added. Tetra zoned out for a moment. That wasn't what Astrid had told them…

"That's not the real story!" she growled. The two witches shut up for a moment, then started laughing again.

"That's what they tell you to avoid telling you the gruesome truth!" Koume cackled heartily. Tetra raised a brow, her curiosity piped up.

"What do you mean? How did Hyrule become shattered? Why was Termina submerged?" she asked. The two witches looked at her for a moment and started laughing again.

"You think we'd tell you that easily? You wish!" Koume laughed.

"Yeah! Follow the rooms. In order. And if you really wish to learn the truth about the Hero of Time, then so be it. You will find your answers there." Kotake cackled once more, then disappeared into thin air.

"Until then, we'll leave you a present." Koume chuckled, sending a wave of magic at the empty armour. Suddenly, the metal rattled, and the armour stood up, wielding an axe. "Have fun!" Koume wished them sarcastically before she too disappeared. Tetra and Linebeck were left to fight off the huge monster.

"I've heard of these… Iron Knuckles!" Linebeck mused out loud.

"What's their weakness?" Tetra hurriedly asked.

"Umm..." he hesitated, then his face lit up. "I remember! You have to dodge their axe, then go behind them. There should be an open spot in their armour! That's where we gotta hit!" he explained. Tetra nodded and ran for the Iron Knuckle, soon followed by Linebeck.

---

For one last time, the Knuckle hit the ground and worked on getting his axe dislodged, but it was too late. Tetra gave the last blow as she tore her scimitar into the back of the monster's armour. The Knuckle screeched shortly, then all movement left it. All that remained was the armour that crumpled into a heap of metal at their feet. Tetra took her scimitar and sheathed it. The bars had lifted. Time to advance.

And find out the truth about the ancient Hero of Time.

---

The first thing Tetra felt when she stepped outside was a breeze carrying sand.

Wait.. Outside? Breeze? Carrying sand?! She looked under her feet. They were standing on one of the extended hands of Nabooru's statue, outside the temple. She screamed in fear and jumped into Linebeck's arms.

"OH MY GOD!' she exclaimed. Linebeck raised a brow and put her down. She started gasping for air. "We're so high up…" she squeaked, looking over the border.

"Afraid of heights?"

"Terribly."

"Come open this chest, it'll change your thoughts." Linebeck suggested, pointing at a chest in the middle of the hand. Tetra nodded, gulped down and walked for it. Bending down, she opened it and took out a shield with a mirror on it.

"Cool!" she said, looking at her reflection on it. "So now how do we get further?" she asked, looking around. Linebeck did the same, and chuckled when he realized what they had to do.

"Umm… I think we have to cross from that beam, there." he pointed with a sheepish expression at a sturdy wooden beam that linked the two extended hands together. Tetra's eyes widened.

"Oh no. No no no no NO!" she backed up, shaking her head. "YOU ARE NOT MAKING ME WALK OVER THAT UNSTABLE THING TO THE OTHER SIDE!" she protested. Linebeck rolled his eyes.

"If you want, I can go first." He offered, stepping on the beam.

"I'm not gonna walk!" she protested.

"Come on! There's nothing to be afraid of!" he growled, annoyed.

"No way! I'm not going to step on that! Who knows? It'll probably break, and we'll fall down, and…" she started ranting as Linebeck threw her an exasperated look. He silently headed for her and unsheathed his scimitar.

"And we could always die! And if we don't, we could get hurt, or even…" there was a whack, and Tetra silently slid to the floor, limp. Linebeck sheathed his scimitar, sighing, and bent down, taking Tetra in his arms. Silently, he stepped on the beam and started walking to the other side.

"Damn kids..."

---

Linebeck had to wait a few more minutes after he entered the next room until Tetra woke up.

"What the hell did you do?" she exclaimed, rubbing her head.

"I crossed to the other side, that's what I did." Linebeck shrugged. Tetra froze, then re-opened the door they came in from. She looked at the other side, spotting the chest where they had found the Mirror Shield.

"God damn…" she whispered, closing the door.

"Before you start ranting again, we made it to the other side, safely, okay? So no need to panic anymore." Linebeck said. Tetra nodded, and gradually calmed down.

"Alright. Now what?" she asked, looking around. The room had two sun structures on its walls. There was a ray of sunlight that shone on the middle of the room, but no mirror. Tetra raised a brow, wondering how they were supposed to redirect the light onto the suns.

"So…Any ideas?" Linebeck asked, seeming thoughtful.

"Well…" she shifted, feeling the weight of the Mirror Shield on her back shifting with her. That's when it hit her. "Mirror Shield!" she exclaimed.

"What about it?"

"We can use its mirror to deflect the light!" she jumped up and down excitedly, then took off the shield and advanced for the middle.

Once there, she turned to Linebeck.

"Which one should I try first?" she asked.

"Umm…" Linebeck contemplated them for a moment, then shrugged. "The one on your left." He said. She nodded and put the Mirror Shield into the light source. The sunlight quickly deflected off the shield.

Then, Tetra turned it towards the sun, making sure the light was still reflecting off the shield. With a smile and a deep breath, she twisted it directly on the sun.

To her huge relief, the sun cracked a wild grin at her. A chest suddenly dropped from the ceiling. Tetra raised a brow, but put the shield down and headed for the chest. Slowly and carefully, she opened it. Linebeck watched over her back as she took out…

"A map?" he asked.

"Actually… Looks like a scroll in Ancient Hylian…" she furrowed her brows.

"Can you read it? Or can Zelda, at least?" he asked again, kneeling next to her.

She nodded and brought Zelda up. She scanned the scroll at first, then started reading. With each word she took, though, her face paled. When she was done with it, she stashed the scroll and walked towards the shield silently. Linebeck raised a brow but followed.

"What did it say?" he asked, noticing her blank face.

"Nothing." She whispered, shaken.

"It's not nothing, come on! Tell me!" Linebeck urged.

She shook her head. "No, I can't…" she replied sadly, a tint of horror in her voice.

Linebeck raised a brow but didn't question it further. It was apparently a touchy subject. But what could have been as touchy as that, for Zelda to have refused to tell him…?

"Fine." She turned away indignantly.

Zelda eyes dropped. "You're apparently pissed at me, so I'll call Tetra back." She sighed.

Before Linebeck could argue, Tetra turned to him with a half smile. "Hi." She greeted.

Behind her blue eyes, though, Linebeck thought he saw a tinge of horror. He raised a brow, but didn't question it. "The door didn't unlock. Won't you try the other sun?" he suggested.

She nodded shakily. "Okay." Then, she grabbed the mirror shield and redirected the light at the second. It too grinned wildly, and the bars unlocked. Without a second word, Tetra took the shield, put it on her back and walked to the next room. Linebeck followed, suspicious, but silent.

The next room was about the same, except the four suns on the walls were positioned on each cardinal position: North, East, West and South. The sun shone in the middle of the room.

"Again?" Linebeck commented as Tetra headed for the middle of the room.

"Guess so." She sighed, reflecting the light expertly at the West sun. It clicked, but didn't light up. Tetra raised a brow. It didn't even burn out! She sighed and tried the South one. It clicked as well, but didn't light up.

After trying the North one as well, that clicked but didn't light up, she growled in annoyance and tried the East one. That one lit up and grinned.

"You think we gotta do em in order?" Linebeck suggested.

"Looks like so…" Tetra shrugged with a sigh. She looked around. There wasn't anything that could give them a clue of which order they had to light them up with, though. As if reading her thoughts, Linebeck whistled.

"Hey Tet! I found an inscription in Ancient Hylian! Come translate it!" he called. She nodded and headed for where he was pointing. Embedded in the walls was actually carved a Hylian poem. She gave place to Zelda as the Princess of Wisdom scanned the text and started translating.

"The sun… shines from the…East…" she started. "The desert…sands? Blow from the… West…" she stopped for a moment, rubbing her chin. "An ancient tribe is heading to the Northern shrine… The Gerudos come from the South. Where did…the Gerudos… start walking from…?"she finally read.

"So basically, it's a riddle?" Linebeck asked.

Zelda nodded. "And a very easy one, too." She giggled, straightening.

"Yeah. So if I understood well, we have to light them in the order of the points mentioned, right?" he deducted.

"Yeah. Go light them, I'll find the answer to the riddle." She gave him the shield.

He nodded and grabbed it, heading for the center. "Which order was it again?" he grinned sheepishly.

"Since we already lit up the East, now light it up like this: West, North and South." She motioned to the West sun. Linebeck nodded and did as she told him to. Once done with the last sun, he turned to her, wanting to ask what he should do next. A rumbling sound beat him to it. Suddenly, suns appeared in all of the secondary points. Linebeck raised a brow, but looked at Zelda. She was grinning.

"I found the answer. If the Gerudos are trekking towards the Northern shrine, coming from the south, then they obviously started from the south as well. But, since the desert winds come from the West, then the Gerudos were obviously heading sideways. That means, the Gerudos started walking from the south-east, if they were pushed west." She finished her explanation with a proud grin.

"So…?" Linebeck rubbed the back of his head with a sheepish expression.

"They started walking from the South-East. Light up the south-eastern sun." she said. With a wink, she gave the place back to Tetra who stretched and smiled.

"What a cool riddle. I'll have to keep it in mind to tell it to Link one day." She grinned as Linebeck directed the light at the south-eastern sun. The sun grinned, and all the others burned out. The bars on the next door lifted, and Linebeck smiled.

"Let's go. We have a temple to clear." He put the shield on his back and headed for the door. Tetra was about to follow him when she heard a thumping sound behind her. Reflexes as fast as lightning, she turned back, drawing her scimitars. It was then that she realized it was just a chest.

And she knew what was inside. She wanted to ignore the chest and walk away, but her curiosity piped in. She knew the scroll inside held the truth, and a bit reluctantly, she opened it and took out the parchment. She took a deep breath and let Zelda take over. She bit her lip and started reading while walking for Linebeck.

By the time they had walked inside the next room, where the Boss Key's chest was waiting, Zelda was crying in horror, drying her tears as fast as possible as not to give Linebeck any doubts. The latter noticed her red eyes but decided to question her later about it. Instead, he headed for the chest and opened it. Taking out the boss key, a huge, heavy key with the Spirit emblem on it, he headed for the next door. Zelda, now Tetra, stalled a bit, then dried her remaining tears of horror and put the scroll away as she ran for Linebeck. Together, they stepped inside the next room.

"Am I aloud to know what's on that scroll?" Linebeck asked rhetorically.

"You are, but I rather you don't." she whispered in a tone that meant there was more than she let on. Linebeck sighed in disappointment, wishing he could read Ancient Hylian, but kept it silent as he scanned the room. They were at the top of the main room. In front of them, on Nabooru's statue's left hand, stood the boss door.

"How do we reach it?" Tetra asked. Linebeck rolled his eyes with a grin and took out a hookshot.

"We pirates don't have this for nothing, you know." He chuckled, pointing at a wooden area above the door. Tetra put her arms around his waist and chuckled.

"I love being a pirate." She purred as they both laughed. The hookshot launched, and they were sent sailing through the air.

Once to their target, Linebeck released the catch and they fell on the hand. Surprisingly, it didn't even budge. Tetra raised a brow but advanced to the boss door. Linebeck had already inserted the key, and the emblem of Spirit fell to the floor, burning out in an orange glow. The Boss door opened, and, drawing their weapons, the two friends carefully strode inside.

---

The inside was pretty bare. They had to climb up on an elevated platform with four different little platforms on each cardinal point. There wasn't much. They walked to the middle, until they heard some cackling. They both dropped into battle positions almost immediately.

"So, I see our visitors made it here, Kotake." The fiery haired witch flew down, soon joined by her sister.

"Yes, Koume. Perhaps we have been bad hosts…" she thought sarcastically.

"Yes! Of course! We didn't even give you a WARM welcome!" Koume sent a wave of fire into the air to prove her point. The pirates tensed.

"Oh, how could we have been so COLD!?" Kotake added, firing a blast of ice in the air.

"With my fire, I'll melt you to your bones!" Koume cackled.

"With my ice, I'll freeze you to the core!" Kotake chuckled.

"Behold the power of Twinrova!" they both laughed.

Suddenly, a bright light engulfed them both as they both merged into one form. The two pirates watched, awed, as the two witches turned into one, with half a head of fiery hair, the other, icy. She held a half fire, half ice staff. Her body was huge, modelled like a young woman, curves and all. She winked at Linebeck, who growled, then flew further away.

"Let's kick this guy's ass!" Linebeck encouraged her.

"Right on!" Tetra cheered. Twinrova suddenly came flying at them, charging up a huge fire blast. Knowing it was impossible to dodge, Linebeck took out the Mirror Shield.

"DUCK!" he yelled. Tetra ducked behind him right when Twinrova fired her beam. It impacted on the shield, almost throwing Linebeck back, but he held strong. Once done, Twinrova frowned.

"Why isn't it working?" she screamed, enraged. Linebeck suddenly felt a weird power rush up his shield arm. He felt as if all this was mechanical, and willed the fire accumulated in the shield to fire back.

The blast returned to its owner. Twinrova screamed in pain as she dropped to the floor. Tetra took the advantage to jump up and slash at her icy-haired side. A few slashes later, Twinrova rose from the ground. Tetra returned to Linebeck, and ducked right when Twinrova sent a beam of ice, directed towards her. Thankfully, the shield absorbed it. Linebeck now knew what he had to do.

He aimed the shield at Twinrova, and with one more deep breath, released the ice. The witch didn't know what hit her, until the ice collided. She screamed once more as she dropped to the ground, panting. Now both pirates jumped from their position and started slashing wildly at both sides.

A few seconds later, Twinrova was engulfed in a bright light. Screaming in pain all the way, she was separated back into the two twin sisters, who floated on their brooms. They didn't seem to notice, though, that they were semi-transparent.

"Gah! You'll see! I will freeze you in your place!" Kotake growled, pointing her finger at the pirates. Nothing came out, though.

She screamed in outrage and tried again. But nothing worked. Tetra started laughing.

"What's so funny?" Kotake yelled.

She pointed at their heads. "Fools." She commented.

The witches looked at each other.

"Kotake, what's that on your head?" Koume asked.

"I don't know, but what's on yours?" she asked. They suddenly both looked up, spotting the halos, panicking.

"AAH! NO! I CAN'T BE DEAD! I'M ONLY 4000 YEARS OLD!" Kotake panicked.

"ME NEITHER! I'M ONLY 3800 YEARS OLD!" Koume panicked as well.

"You can't be two hundred years younger than me! We're twins!" Kotake growled.

"Well, Mother always liked me best!" Koume crossed her arms.

"Why you!" Kotake jumped on her sister, pulling her hair. She pulled back, and Linebeck and Tetra laughed at the siblings' quarrel as they rose up into the sky and disappeared.

"Well, that's that." Linebeck stretched. Tetra was about to say something as well, but she heard a spirit whisper.

"So you are my successor…"

She whipped around, eyes widening in awe. In front of her, semi-transparent like the witches, stood the ghost of Zelda. The Zelda that she nested within her. Her physical body. But she knew they weren't the same.

"Who are you…?" Tetra asked.

"The grandmother of the Zelda you house within you." The Princess's ghost replied, bowing. "I am relieved to see my descendants can take care of themselves this well." She chuckled darkly.

"Wha…What do you mean?" Tetra asked. Behind her, Linebeck was listening to the exchange between ancestor and descendant intently.

The ghost turned away with an ashamed face. "Not everything you heard was true." She sighed. Something clicked in Tetra's mind.

"Is this about the content of the scrolls?" she blanched.

"I'm afraid so…" Zelda sighed, eyes downcast.

"It's not true, is it?" she whispered, tears filling her eyes.

"I'm afraid so, as well." Zelda's ghost threw her a sympathetic smile as two tears rolled down Tetra's cheeks.

"Are you sure the cycle will repeat itself?" she asked, hopeful.

"As far as I'm concerned, yes. All the Hero's incarnates have suffered the same fate." She dropped her gaze. There was a silence where Linebeck debated what he had found out.

The scrolls were apparently a story of some kind, a horrible one, judging by Tetra's expression. Then, it was about the Hero of Time. And finally, something happened to the hero, and all his descendants suffered the same thing. He raised a brow but kept silent.

"Is there any ay to alter it?" Tetra asked.

"There may be, but I do not know of it. Your destiny is in your own hands. Fate can play, but you can always change what's going to happen." Zelda's ghost warned her.

She nodded. "Alright. But what happened to you? It isn't mentioned in the scrolls." Tetra shuddered.

Zelda bit her lip. "I cannot tell. Just as you have found out about the Hero of Time's fate, the Hero's incarnate is finding about yours." She sighed, eyes downcast.

Tetra nodded and gulped down. "Alright…" she whispered nervously.

"Well, I must go now. Please, don't let Bellum do what he did to us, and our Hyrule. Everything you know is a lie. Those scrolls are the truth, and the truth only. I wish you luck in saving your world. Goodbye, my incarnate." And with that, the ghost disappeared in little debris, pushed away from the wind.

"Goodbye…" she walked away slowly, still processing the information she had received. Linebeck followed her into the newly unlocked Maiden Room.

---

Inside, sand was running down the orange walls. The ground was also made of orange bricks, and the Maiden of Spirit was trapped inside an orange crystal that shattered as soon as they were in a ten foot range of her. The girl bowed and ran for them, apparently the most energetic of all the Maidens.

"Thank you thank you thank you so much for saving me and my three other sisters!" she squealed, hugging Tetra and Linebeck. They both blushed.

She also seemed to be the youngest, with her childish face and long orangish hair tied up in a ponytail.

"So I'm Medli." She bowed again. "Maiden of Spirit." She twirled around gracefully. "And my sister, Maiden Astrid, told me to take you to the Maidens' Sanctuary when you freed me. So I will ask you to hold hands with each other and give me one of your hands." She extended her own hand.

Tetra and Linebeck took each others' hands and grabbed the Maiden's.

"Awesome! Now follow me! Close your eyes, and don't let go, alright?" she giggled.

"Kay."

"Can do."

"Then let's go!"

With that, and orange glow appeared around them. Tetra took the moment to analyse what horrible things she had found out.

Bellum had trapped the Hero of Time in the Shadow Temple. Then, with him out of the way, he took control of Hyrule and shattered it. The Hero of Time was tormented to death by the spirits inside the Shadow Temple, whether physically or psychologically. So every incarnation of the Hero of Time suffers the same fate and dies like that.

And Link is the newest incarnation of the Hero of Time…

******************

**Author Notes:**

**Omigawd :O As usual, there is a problem X( But without a problem, there wouldn't be adventure, now would there? XD**

**So a lot of people complained that I'd been hurting my chars too much. So I decided to stop hurting them... but I never said how... I didn't hurt them physically, but trust me, Tetra is a bit more than just shaken by the content of the scrolls ;) No, I AM NOT A SADIST, it's just that Bellum plays mind games, and with mind games comes pain, you know? Ugh, screw that, you'll see the purpose for everything later .**

**So yeah. I know I'm late, and you have every reason to flame me, but seriously, I was writing JLR!!! O_o Omg guys, I got 90 reviews on the frickin story :O I never thought I could get so far X3**

**Oh great, now a Linkin Park song is stuck in my head (I TRIED SO HARD, AND GOT SO FAR! BUT IN THE END, IT DOESN'T EVEN MATTER!) Cookie for anyone who can guess what that song is. Come on, it was a theme song in JLR and everyone who knows Linkin Park must know the song XD *coughcough the title is in the lyrics anyway XD* I'll go get teh cookies ^_^ In other words, I'm giving out free cookies XD**

**Now what kind of an Author's Note is this? Talking about Linkin Park and cookies X/ So I hope you enjoyed the chapter we've all been waiting for so long. And please review to tell me what you think ^_^**

**BUT IN THE END, IT DOESN'T EVEN MATTEEEEEER!!!!!!!**

**Linkin Park side note:**

**Omigawd, you guys, LP is teh best band EVUR! I love FAINT, NUMB, Leave out all the rest, In the End, Breaking the Habit, What I've done, and all the rest (no, that's not a song XD), oh god, LP ROCKS MY WORLD! W00T! XD**


	14. These Demons Inside: Shadow Temple

**Author Notes:**

**I know I'm late, but it's because I was writing OISH XDDDD Sorry to everyone waiting out there ^^;**

**So yeah, finally, the next chapter :D SHADOW TEMPLE! Omg, remember how I said chapters woudl be smaller? I never mentionned hwich. This was more than 7000 words :OO I swear to god, it typed itself XD**

**And it kinda took a horror movie turn. I noticed after I finished typing ^^; So, if anyone has seen the movie "The Sixth Sense" (With Haley Joel Osment X3), everything was inspired from that movie XD I just saw it, and it was stuck in my mind for a while XD**

**So obviously, there are some _gruesome scenes_ ^^; So _Rated 13+ for stuff that can sound disgusting_ O_o**

**Enjoy anyway :D**

*********************

"Eerie." Link commented as they walked across the first hallway.

"You said it…" Jolene shuddered, grabbing his arm. "Let's get this over with as fast as possible, kay?" she asked.

"Can do, scaredy cat." Link grinned.

"YOU are the bearer of Courage, not me." Jolene shrugged.

"Alibis, alibis, alibis…" Link rolled his eyes sarcastically.

"Shut up and keep walking." Jolene sighed.

"_Beware the truth.. It roams around you…"_

"What did you say, Jolene?" Link asked, turning around.

"I didn't say anything…" Jolene shrugged. Link raised a brow but kept walking.

"_The spirits are floating, roaming around you. Only the Eye of Truth can find them."_

"Okay, I heard you. You said something." Link eyed Jolene suspiciously.

"I still sustain I said nothing." She crossed her arms. "It's probably just the wind, it's pretty chilly in here."

"Wind… Right…" Link muttered, turning back and continuing.

"Beware, young Hero. Everything is not what it seems…"

"Stop toying!" Link finally yelled, irritated.

"I'm not saying anything!" Jolene yelled back.

"Well SOMEONE said something!" Link crossed his arms stubbornly.

"It's your imagination, Link! No one's here beside you and me!" Jolene pointed out.

"Fine." Link grumbled. It was still there, though. The essence was still there.

"Gaze upon your future." A hushed voice suddenly whispered in his ear.

Link turned around to see who had whispered. All he was met with was a boy, his age, with dirty blond hair and blue eyes. Those eyes pierced deep into him, even if they were pale.

But what was disturbing wasn't that he looked almost exactly like Link.

The boy was mutilated. A long slash ran diagonally across his face, terribly disfiguring him. His left forearm was missing, and an X was slashed over the green tunic he wore.

Link screamed in horror, jumping back. Clutching his heart, he breathed in shakily as the boy threw him a silent glare. Next time he blinked, the boy was gone.

"Link?" Jolene asked, putting a hand on his shoulder. Link turned shakily and looked at her. In a flash, the disfigured boy was standing behind her, still glaring coldly at him. In another flash, he was gone.

"BEHIND YOU!" Link stuttered shakily.

Jolene turned, met with thin air. "What's behind me?" she asked.

"The… the boy…! A… And…" Link whispered, terribly creeped out now.

"You okay?" Jolene asked caringly.

"Y… Yeah…" he looked around once more. The boy was nowhere to be seen. "Let's move on…" he urged her. Together, they opened the door and walked into the next room.

The next room was apparently the main room. It wasn't big, though. Black brick walls confined them in. There was one part with solid ground, another with an endless pit of darkness, and then, there was a ledge at the far end of the pit. One metal door stood on the solid side.

A cold wind blew in the room. Link shivered. "Is it just you, or is it cold in here?" Link asked.

"It's just you." Jolene shrugged. It's hot in here, actually." She noticed.

"Then why…" he never got the chance to finish.

Another boy his age, looking exactly the same as the one before, had appeared behind Jolene. This one was even more gruesome.

Someone had stitched his lips together, and when his gaze fell down, he realized the same was done to his fingers. A slash had ALMOST completely severed his left forearm, leaving the lifeless limb hanging from the top part, with old blood coating everything nearby, both bones and muscles visibly hanging from it.

"Jolene!" he screamed, terrified, pointing behind her.

The pirate whirled around, drawing her scimitar. She soon took it back down, though, raising a brow.

"I don't see anything." She mentioned.

Link looked back. The boy was still looking at him. But his stitched lips drew up in a slight smirk.

"_You are his next incarnation, young one. You are the next incarnation. You are next…"_

Link screamed as the boy disappeared. Shakily, he looked around, looking for anything else similar to that. Nothing.

"Link!" Jolene exclaimed, running for him, putting a hand on his cheeks. "What's wrong, Link?" she asked.

"I… You didn't see him…?" the latter whimpered.

"See who?" she asked, raising a brow quizzically.

As if answering her question, the boy reappeared behind her.

Link's eyes widened in horror. "HIM!" he screamed, pointing at the boy.

Jolene whipped around, looking straight at the boy. "Link, there's nothing but air there." she raised a brow as the boy slightly smirked again.

"B… But… H… He's there!" Link objected, pointing at the green clad boy.

"Link…" Jolene sighed. "When was the last time you ate?" she asked, concerned, putting a hand on his forehead.

"I'm not hungry and I'm not sick!" he objected, pulling away. Hundreds of voices seemed to laugh in his head.

"Link… Do you want to stop for a while?" Jolene grabbed his arm firmly.

"NO!" he pulled back, shuddering violently.

"If I call Tetra, will it make you feel better?" she asked, pulling out the Gossip Stone.

"NO! I'M NOT CRAZY! HE'S RIGHT THERE! HE'S SMIRKING!" he pointed, horrified, at the mutilated teen, who indeed stood there, his valid arm applied on his hips, his stitched lips turned into a full smirk. It terrified Link that he and the boy looked alike in so many ways.

"Come on, sweetie." Jolene pulled him away, sighing. "Let's move on."

Throwing one last terrified glance in the blond boy's way, Link turned away and followed Link in as the ghost disappeared.

---

After dealing with the Wallmaster in the next room, a dead end, a chest fell from nowhere in front of Link. Raising a brow, he put his sword away and bent down, opening it. Putting his hand inside, he pulled out a chart.

"A chart?" Jolene asked, looking over his shoulder as he opened it.

His eyes soon dropped in disappointment. "It's in Ancient Hylian." He sighed. "I was curious to know what was written." He rolled his eyes.

"_The wind carries this message to you, young hero… The scrolls contain the truth about the Princess of Destiny's fall…"_

Link's ears twitched, but he didn't need to draw his sword. He knew no one was there.

He knew he only could hear them.

And as another mutilated teen appeared in front of his eyes, he didn't bother yelling at Jolene to look his way.

He knew that only HE could see them.

The new boy was still blond, with a single blue eye. The other wasn't in its socket anymore. A slash ran down from his forehead, down his missing right eye's socket, down to his chin. A bloody gash ran from the base of his neck to his belly button in a neat straight line, tainting the green tunic he wore with old and fresh blood. Two of his right hand's fingers were missing, as well as one from his left.

Shuddering in terror, Link turned his attention back to the scroll. There was a flash in his mind, and he gritted his teeth in pain, closing his eyes. When he opened them, though, the text on the scroll was readable, now written in Modern Hylian.

His eyes greedily scoured over the scroll as he read what was written. In the end, he gasped and turned to Jolene. "Read this." He handed her the scroll.

"I can't, I don't know how to read Ancient Hylian." She shrugged.

"But it's in Modern Hylian." Link raised a brow.

"No, it's in Ancient Hylian." Jolene countered, looking at the scroll.

"_I should have known."_ He thought, looking at the newcomer. The boy creepily smirked at him, stepping away to reveal a newly made passage in the wall.

"This way." Link motioned, moving towards the wall.

"Link, there's only a wall there." Jolene pointed. "Maybe we missed something in the old room." She suggested.

"No." he sustained, confident. "There's a passage. Come on." He motioned.

"Link…" Jolene sighed, worried.

"THERE IS A PASSAGE! FOLLOW ME!" Link groaned desperately, putting his hand into the dark tunnel. It passed right through the wall. "Just come on. It's an illusion." He cleared up as he passed on the other side.

"Fine, fine." She rolled her eyes and following him through the wall, not even seeing the creepy evil smirk the mutilated teen threw at her before he disappeared into thin air.

---

As soon as Jolene stepped out of the tunnel, though, she lost Link from her sight. He wasn't in front of her, where he was supposed to be standing, technically.

"Link?" she asked.

A squeak was the only thing audible from behind her. Jolene turned around, spotting Link pushed against the wall, clutching his heart, teeth clattering, eyes widened in horror. "Link?" she asked, kneeling next to him.

"Oh my dear Farore." He breathed, traumatized out of his wits.

"What's wrong, Link?" Jolene asked, curious.

"I… I... I see them… And… They're all looking back at me…" he stuttered fearfully.

"Link… Honey… Are you sure you're okay?" she asked gently, caressing his pale, sweaty cheek.

"They're all… so… frightful…" he breathed, shuddering uncontrollably.

"Do you have fever?" Jolene asked in a motherly tone, putting her hand against his forehead.

"I'M NOT GODDAMN SICK! THEY'RE THERE! STARING AT ME!" he screamed, bursting out into tears.

Jolene looked around. Nothing was apparent in the large room. There were many empty cages, bloody shackles, torture devices, ropes and chains, but not even corpses and skeletons were visible.

"It's just your imagination, Link." Jolene caressed his hair as he continued looking through his fingers, hands covering his face.

If only she knew.

Link was actually seeing Hell first hand. There were so many dead in this room, it almost gave him a heart attack. All of them looked almost the same. Some were younger than Link, others were older. They were all average height, according to their age, some of them smaller, others taller. But they all had blond hair, whether pure, dirty, brownish, darker, lighter, whatever. They were all blond. And their eyes. All the ones who still had their eyes were staring at Link. Their common icy blue gazes pierced right through him, terrifying him to the core.

Many we hung by hangmen nooses. Others were stuck in cages. Others were chained to the wall. Others were secured inside torture devices. But all of them were in one way or another mutilated. From missing limbs to gruesome wounds, it was all there.

The only thing that was perfectly common on all of them was that they were wearing green tunics, white undershirts and white tight pants tucked in brown boots.

Link's gaze swept past those boys, who all looked terrifyingly like him. He bore their harsh glares difficultly, shrinking in his place as he cried even more.

"_The Eye of Truth is embedded in the Hero… Only he can see the true bearings of this room."_ Another whisper caught his ear, sending chills up and down his spine.

"Please…" he whimpered. "No more…" he pleaded.

"Link, tell me what's wrong. Do you feel weak? Need a fairy or a potion?" Jolene asked concerned.

"They're all real... And they can see us… I can see them… You can't… I can touch them… They can touch us…" he whimpered, looking up at Jolene with teary eyes.

"Link, tell me. Who are these 'they' you are mentioning?" she asked, gently looking him in the eye.

There was a silence. Even the ghosts seemed to freeze. Only the tears kept rolling over Link's cheeks.

Then, his mouth started trembling, his lips forming the word.

"…The dead…"

Jolene jumped back in shock. "What?" she asked, unsure.

"The dead. For some reason, everyone here looks the same… and the same as me…" he shuddered. "They're all mutilated and dead." He pointed at the cages hung on the wall. "See those cages? They're empty, right?" he asked, trembling like a leaf during a rainstorm.

"Yeah." She replied, slowly catching on.

"Well you're wrong. Each of them bears a teenager, my age, looking almost like me. Except they are all terribly disfigured. And dead." He shuddered at the word. "Everyone I see here is a ghost. But they're real, and they're there." he whimpered, breaking down into fearful tears once more.

Jolene rubbed her hand soothingly over his back. "It's okay, Link… It's okay…" she whispered, trying to comfort him.

"It's true!" he objected. "Ever since you stepped inside the temple, haven't you felt a constant breathing over your shoulders?" he asked.

"Well…" Jolene mused out loud. "Now that you mention it… Yeah…" she raised a brow.

"Didn't you feel their cold breath on your neck as the breathed behind your back?" he whispered.

"Yeah…" she shuddered.

"Didn't you feel those thousand little needles piercing the back of your neck? It's them. It's them. They're everywhere. And they're watching us. The dead are watching us." He breathed fearfully, burying his face in his hands as Jolene was left to digest all that.

Though the next time he lifted his eyes, the three boys from the rooms before were behind Jolene. The one with stitched lips extended his stitched fingers towards Jolene, attempting to grab her…

But Link was faster. With a scream of fright, he grabbed Jolene and pulled her into his arms. "DON'T TOUCH HER!" he yelled at the ghost, tears flowing freely down his cheeks. "Don't. Touch. Her." He minced his words fearfully as Jolene grunted in his arms. He still held strong, though.

The ghost brought his hand back and suddenly, his stitched lips curled up in a sweet smile. Then, motioning to the mob of dead blocking the way to the other room, he brought Link's attention to it. The mob stepped back, making a clear, wide path leading to the next door.

"Come on." Link fearfully pulled Jolene up, watching the dead teen's moves carefully. They stayed still, awkwardly smiling at them.

"Link… Where are we going?" Jolene asked, looking around, seeing nothing.

"We're gonna pass through them. Now hold on, and no matter what, don't let go. If you feel cold, it's just because they're breathing over you. Don't be scared." He gulped his tears down, putting his arm around her. Even if she was ten years older than him, he took the lead, safely putting her under his arm as they walked through the mob of dead teens.

A few tried to touch them. Link warded them off with a single cold glare. Soon, they made it across, standing right in front of the next door.

"_Hero…"_

Link whipped around, looking straight through the path in the middle of the dead. The one with stitched lips was standing on the other side, with the eye-less one on his left and the one with a slash over his face at his right. The one with stitched lips suddenly kneeled, putting his left arm over his heart.

"_Free us from this cursed existence…"_

And when the apparent leader of the bunch finally lifted his eyes, Link could see a faint glint of hope in those faded azure orbs. It was faint, eaten away by the endless centuries that had consumed the poor teen's faith, but it was there.

"I will…" Link breathed, opening the door. Jolene entered. Link looked back at the dead once more, then went in himself.

---

The temple was actually very easy, now that Link had gotten over his fear of the dead. Sometimes, a few mutilated teenagers visited him, sending him hopeful glares for those who still had their eyes, sweet smiles for those who could, and warm waves of their hands if… they could still use them.

In the end, Link got used to the teenagers and even smiled back sometimes.

It wasn't their fault apparently. Whoever had cursed them to eternity in their torturous existence had obviously left them like this. They wanted to be free of these chains. They wanted to move up to the Sacred Realm to get the peaceful rest they deserved after the many millenniums they'd been imprisoned here. And Link would free them once and for all.

After all, he was a Hero.

It was never mentioned for whom he was a Hero.

---

At one point, they entered a dead end room. Nothing was there. No monsters, no chests, no nothings.

Turning back around, Jolene tried exiting, but the bars on the door fell down, locking them in.

At first, they looked for the enemy, swords drawn. But there were none.

Suddenly, a random teenager with slashes drawing patterns over his torso skin ran for them, his mouth open as if he wanted to say something. Horror was evident in his eyes.

"What is it?" Link asked, alarmed.

The spirit didn't respond. It probably didn't have the power to talk to living beings. It simply knocked into Link roughly, knocking the Hero back.

A chill swept over Link's body as the dead teen touched him. "What the hell was that for?" he asked, getting back up, looking at the teenager…

Who was suspended four feet up in the air?

Link gasped along with Jolene as they spotted the threat. Four hands burst out of the ground, twitching around, trying to grab their prey. But even more horrifying, a white monster with a huge neck, his head pulled up, was gliding towards the unfortunate teenager, who was now struggling against the hand throttling him, despite his dead state.

The monster suddenly brought its little white head down, revealing its scary black eyes. They sparkled in delight as it bit on the teenager's arm.

The teen's mouth opened in an inaudible scream of pain. Link's heart flipped in his stomach, even if he couldn't hear him.

"LET HIM GO!" Link cried, striking the hand holding the teen up. The hand screeched, awkwardly enough, and let the teen's throat go. The monster, seeing as its prey's grip had disappeared, gave a sharp tug with his teeth on the blond boy's arm.

And even if it made no sound, Link's stomach churned. As he watched the horrible scene, he felt like he would puke any moment now. He took out a dagger and hurled it violently at the monster that let go of his prey and screeched as it pierced one of its eyes.

"DIE, FOUL CREATURE!" Link yelled, charging at the monster. One deft swing, and the white blob broke in half.

"Link… I can't see anything… What was that?" Jolene asked.

"There was a monster. And… When I saw pushed back… A dead teenager pushed me back… He saved me…" Link breathed, looking back at the boy, who was now crying, clutching his left arm's shoulder socket…

It was empty…

Link's horrified gaze went to the severed limb, not very far away from its former owner. He brought his gaze away, frowning. "I'm sorry." He whispered to the teenager.

The boy's beady eyes looked up at him as if forgiving him. Even if he was crying, he mustered up a little smile under his tears of extreme pain.

"I swear to all three Goddesses, I will do whatever I can to free you." Link whispered, looking behind him. Right where he had defeated the monster had appeared a chest.

He opened the chest, taking out a strange magnifying glass like object. The borders were purple, and the glass was red.

"What the hell?" Link asked, scratching his head.

The dead teenager suddenly pushed himself off the floor, extending a bloodied hand to grab the magnifier. Confidently, he took it from Link's hands and headed for Jolene. Link followed him, making sure he wasn't doing anything suspicious.

When the teen got to Jolene, she stepped back.

"Link… I feel cold… Where is he?" she asked, trembling.

"It's okay. He's in front of you." He told her. She gasped, jumping back. "He won't harm you. He seems to know how to use the new object I found." He shrugged.

"Kay. Go ahead." She breathed in deep, looking into thin air, truly looking at the boy.

The teen smiled awkwardly, took a deep breath, and with a trembling hand, brought the magnifier to Jolene's right eye.

The first thing she saw was the pale, trembling face of the dead boy. Screaming in fright, she jumped back, dropping the magnifier. The boy also stepped back, afraid of her reaction.

"It's okay. She's just surprised." Link comforted the teen, who looked around fifteen years of age. Then, he headed for Jolene and put the lens back in front of her eye. "Can you finally see him?" he asked.

Jolene scrutinized the boy. She immediately paled.

"Am I supposed to see a boy with a missing left arm that's twitching not very far away from him?" she whimpered.

"Unfortunately, yes." Link sighed. "I'm guessing this is what those voices meant by Eye of Truth. I'm guessing it allows you to see what normal human eyes can't see." He tried.

The dead boy nodded with a faint smile. Link chuckled. "If he says we got the right answer, then it's right." He smiled.

"Okay…" Jolene took a deep breath, looking at the boy and giving him a grateful nod. The boy, apparently warmed by her attitude, smiled wide and bowed.

"I'm sorry you lost your arm… It's all my fault." Link apologized to the boy.

The ghost shook his head negatively. Then, he smiled at Link, waving his his bloodied available hand.

"Thanks." Link smiled, spotting another chest not very far away. It was smaller, so he expected a small key.

It really was a small key. So after taking it, he waved goodbye at the boy, and exited, with Jolene closely following behind.

Once back one room, Link spotted a group of dead boys who were waiting for them. He grabbed Jolene's hand, the one holding the Lens of Truth, and made her look in the boys' direction.

"That's them." He told her as she gasped, horrified when she saw their disfigured faces.

"Oh dear Din…" she whispered, terrorized. "This is what you had been seeing from the beginning of the temple?" she whimpered.

"Yep." Link sighed sadly. Then, he looked towards the locked door. "Let's move on." He motioned towards the door. Throwing the group of dead teens one last sympathetic glance, Link walked inside, followed by Jolene.

The next room was bare, actually. But for once, two brown corpses stood motionless on the ground.

"Are those… monsters?" Jolene asked, eyeing them suspiciously.

"I don't know…" Link sighed, looking at the brown corpses. Maybe they were the remains of some of the dead teens…?

His hypothesis was ruined when one of them put its head up and looked at Link straight in the eye, freezing him. Then, it unleashed the sharpest screech Link had ever head in his life.

It froze him in his steps. "I CAN'T MOVE!" Link panicked as the monster headed for him.

"ME NEITHER!" Jolene added in, watching the monster's every moves.

"What do we do?" Link asked as the monster touched him, making chills wash uncomfortably up and down his spine.

"BE CAREFUL!" Jolene suddenly screamed. Before Link had time to ask why, he felt a searing pain rip through his shoulder.

His screams of pain echoed through the entire temple.

Thankfully, it attracted the ghosts' attention. A group of dead teens curiously peeked inside to see what was going on. They were frozen horrified when they saw Link, lying on the ground in a pool of his own blood, motionless. The brown corpse was now heading for Jolene, who was trembling with all her might.

One of the ghosts who was brave enough grabbed Link's sword from his fallen hands and attacked the monster. The monster screeched again as it died away. Once it had burned down in black flames, Jolene was freed from her curse. The first thing she did was run for Link and kneel next to him.

The ReDead had bit his shoulder. It was now swollen and purple, the life-sucking poison seeping and moving through his veins.

"FAIRY!" Jolene gasped, quickly uncorking a bottled fey.

The little fairy sighed in discontent with Link's state, quickly getting to work. When it was done, it sadly kissed Link's nose and flew away.

"Talk to me, Link." Jolene pleaded as Link's head rolled lifelessly to the sides. "No…" she whispered, tears dripping from her eyes. "No…" she hugged Link's motionless body against her own.

The fairy hadn't done anything. Link was gone.

"NO!" she screamed, crying out in emotional pain. Her fingers ran over his cold cheek, as if trying to get the blood circulating again. But it was too late.

Suddenly, one of the dead boys pulled on Jolene's shirt. She put on the Lens of Truth, looking at the boy, who pointed at the wall.

Her eyes first diverted to the boys who had taken care of the second ReDead, then it drifted to…

"LINK???" she gasped, looking at the man chained on the wall, unconscious.

The same dead boy pulled her up, sending chills over her body. She reluctantly left Link as she followed the ghost to the second form of Link's body.

The ghost then pointed to the chains. Jolene dried her tears and nodded, unlocking the body.

It didn't fall though. Instead, it floated up in the air, gently floating down. When his feet touched the ground, his eyes opened.

"Welcome." Link's body smiled. "I am the Hero of Time. The original Hero of Time." He bowed.

"Please. Tell me you can help Link." Jolene pleaded.

"Which Link?" the Hero smirked amusedly. "I'm Link. He's Link." he pointed at a random boy. "He's also Link." he pointed to another. "We're all Links here." He laughed.

"What?" Jolene asked, confused.

"Dear Jolene. We are the incarnations of one another. They are all my descendants. I'm their ancestor. They're each others' ancestors and descendants. And your Link happens to be my newest incarnation." He smiled sadly.

"Your newest incarnation just DIED." Jolene hissed, the tears flowing back.

"He did not." The ghost shrugged. "A ReDead bite slows the organism. It freezes veins and lowers blood pressure. It affects various limbs, and can even touch the heart at some point. But it doesn't kill quickly." He sighed. "Here, proof." He calmly motioned behind her, to Link. She slowly whipped around, somewhat dreading the result.

Despite the fact that his shoulder was badly bitten, Link was staring at her, eyes clouded with pain.

"What the…?" she shook her head, surprised. "He wasn't dead?" she asked.

"No. Just frozen. Warm him up, and he's back." The ghost laughed.

Jolene ignored and him and ran, kneeling next to Link. "You okay?" she asked.

"I feel faint, but I'll live." He muttered, lying back down. "My shoulder hurts…" he moaned.

"I'll bandage that." Jolene ripped the bottom part of his shirt, wrapping it around his bitten shoulder. "There." she smiled.

"I feel so violated…" Link finally muttered, chuckling.

"What do you mean?" she asked, blushing.

"Didn't you see what the ReDead looked like when it bit me?" he laughed, pushing himself up.

Jolene thought back. Well, the ReDead had jumped on him… bit him... and it…

"Oh my Nayru." She gasped, slowly starting to laugh. "It… WHAT?" she exclaimed, amusedly outraged.

"I'M STILL A VIRGIN!" Link laughed. The Hero of Time chuckled, and all the mutilated boys in the room smiled, unable to laugh.

"Okay. Let's get what we came here for and leave already." Jolene shuddered, still not accustomed to seeing the dead.

"I believe this is it." Link's ghost handed them a key with a purple hilt. A triangle with three dots around it adorned the purple surface of the hilt.

"Sweet! Boss key!" Link cheered, pocketing it. Then, he turned to Jolene. "Help me up." He groaned.

Jolene rolled her eyes amusedly and pulled him up. Once he had dusted himself off, they both looked towards the ghost.

"Thanks. For saving my ass, beating those ReDeads and getting a boss key." Link nodded.

"You're welcome. Thank you for freeing me as well, my lady." The Hero of Time bowed to Jolene. She nodded. "Now go. The beast within this temple has heard of my escape, as well as our uproar. We are considered like objects to him. He does not mind ripping everyone's limbs out one by one to keep us at bay. He's really angry now that we started helping you." He looked Link straight in the eye.

The latter was shocked for a moment, a chill running over his body. "I'm sorry we caused the trouble." He stammered.

"It's fine. Now go. Go before the creatures of darkness get to you." The Hero's Shade warned.

"What?" Link stepped back.

"They'll claim you, they'll hold you down." He seemed to be lost in his painful memories.

"What are you talking about?" Link asked.

"Them. If they ever catch you, and we cannot save you, I don't even know what they'll do." He whispered.

"I…"

"Run." The word was harsh and straight, a command more than a suggestion.

"Why?" Link countered.

"Run. The boss awaits. But run."

"…I still don't get why…"

"RUN!" the deceased hero yelled. "Run! You won't know what hit you until you feel the pain dancing over your skin! You won't realize what's happening to you until you feel a thousand needles stinging your skin, getting harsher by the second. You won't know what's going on until you hear yourself scream. You won't see the light ever again. They love hearing you scream. They love seeing your blood drip down slowly and agonizingly. And when there is nothing left to break, they kill you, dooming you forever to the temple." The Hero breathed.

"Who are these 'they'…?" Link asked, afraid, backing away towards the door.

"The guardians of this temple. And they're drawing near. Your aura, the aura of a living being, is intoxicating for a monster. They're drawn to you." The Hero warned as Link fearfully reached for the door handle.

"And if I beat the boss, they'll go away?" he stuttered.

"They will." He smiled sadly. "Now run. We'll hold them off as they try to get to you. Many of us may get hurt. Don't let their sacrifices go in vain. Run to the Boss Door, where your destiny awaits. Run, child, and no matter what, never look back into the darkness again." his eyes narrowed.

"I won't fail you." Link breathed as he opened the door, flying out, with Jolene on his heels.

Once he was out, the deceased Hero turned to the mutilated spirits in the room, all looking at him with fear, shock and horror apparent over them.

He sighed. "This one won't fail. For millenniums, the darkness has gotten to you. But this one will save us all. I can feel it." He brought his head up. "We must aid him. I want one straight line. No Poes are getting past that line, understood?" he asked.

All the Hero's late descendants nodded, forming exactly what he asked for.

"Perfect." He whispered, proud. "Time to cover up for your fail when you lived. Look at yourselves for a moment. Let's not let the same thing happen to our saviour." He encouraged them as a chill ran across the room.

The life-draining Poes were here…

"We are Heroes, stand or die. Nothing will stop us now. Fight until every ounce of your energy is gone. And be careful. Good luck, my children." The Hero breathed, drawing his sword. The boys behind him took their stances, drawing weapons as much as possible while mutilated.

Thinking back at his latest incarnation, the Hero's eyes glinted with pride, joy, and hope. Before he spotted the first ghost and lunged to attack, he had time to whisper to the wind.

"_Good luck, my child…"_

---

Link took his unknown-to-him ancestor's advice, never looking back as he frantically ran through the various rooms he had passed before. Everything was a blur. Sometimes, a few ghosts would raise brows, watching him fly by, but all of them soon stood rigid, steeling themselves as they felt the Poes advancing, ready to give all they had left to protect their incarnation. They would not let those monsters get to the Hero.

They would not let the monsters get to THEIR Hero.

---

"Link, the boss door is here." Jolene stopped him once they'd gotten to the huge door, locked by a chain with the Shadow Maiden's seal on it.

"Let's get this over with." Link sighed, unlocking the door.

"Let's." Jolene smiled, grabbing his arm. Then, together, they walked into the Boss Room, to the awaiting fight.

---

At first, there was nothing but black. Then, distant music hit their ears.

"What the hell?" Jolene asked as they felt the floor rumbling.

"Hold on!" Link gasped, holding her up as they bounced a few feet into the air, landing back on what they realized was a bouncy surface.

"What the hell are we stepping on?" Jolene asked, feeling the rubber under her feet.

"It happens to be my bongo." An unfamiliar voice called.

The two pirates drew their swords, looking around them.

"I'm right here!" the voice called again, drawing their attention to the front. Their eyes were met with two hands, and on top was hovering an eye. "Catch me if you can!" the eye's invisible bearer laughed, shutting his eye afterwards.

"Let's kick his ass." Link growled, moving further onto the ring.

"I'm right behind you." Jolene smirked.

---

A bit later, Link and Jolene had figured out his obvious weakness. It was just hard to hit him.

"WATCH OUT!" Jolene suddenly yelled, seeing one of the hands crashing on Link. She jumped in, pushing him to the ground and putting her weapon over them.

Her tactic worked as the blade pierced the hand through.

"OOOOOOW! OW OW OW OW OW OW OOOOOOW!" the voice exclaimed, ripping the weapon out and shaking his hand in futile attempts to calm the pain. "YOU WILL PAY!" it roared, sending the other hand at them without thinking of the consequences.

"My turn." Link grinned, putting his sword up. Before the monster had time to think it up, the sword had pierced through. "Bingo." He chuckled, pulling the weapon out.

The monster threw back, thrashing as it cried in pain. It waved around, then suddenly, the eye fell open to the ground.

"Hit that eye!" Link called, rushing towards the vulnerable orb. Both he and Jolene slashed at it until it cried nothing but tears of blood.

Throwing backwards, the monster's eye and hands thrashed, violent spasms running over their… masses. Unleashing one last scream, the three limbs exploded in tuffs of purple smoke.

There was a moment of silence, when only the sound of an opening lock was audible. Then, a cold chill swept past the room again.

It was all too familiar by now.

Turning around, Link and Jolene were met with the army of mutilated teens, looking at them happily. A lot of them were wounded, others were leaning on each other, but all of them were smiling. At the very front stood the original Hero of Time, smiling proudly at Link, unshed tears glistening in his eyes.

"We beat it." Link quietly stated.

"I know." The Hero replied in a ragged voice. "We were fighting when the Poes evaporated." He grinned, soon biting his lip though.

"You're welcome." Link smirked at his silent thanks.

"We can never thank you enough, me and my descendants." The Hero smiled.

"You deserve it." Link nodded.

"Well… This is it…" he sighed, giving them a sincere smile. Behind him, the teens evaporated one by one, dissipating into the air with small cries of joy. Their voices soon made a symphony, a joy to hear for the old warrior.

At the end, only the deceased Hero of Time's ghost stood. "Thank you once again. Goodbye, my child." He breathed, soon evaporating himself.

There was a silence in the room. Now that the boys had disappeared, it was awfully… empty… around Link.

"Goodbye." He whispered silently, then turned to the next door. Walking towards it, he smiled. It felt good to know he had saved all those teens from a cursed existence in the Shadow temple.

He broke out of his thoughts when Jolene poked him. "Yeah?" he asked.

"I feel good, knowing we could help those kids." She sighed happily, opening the door.

"So do I… They creeped me out at first… But then… they were like family…" Link zoned off. Jolene chuckled, failing to mention they WERE his family.

Soon, they got to the Maiden's side. The purple haired girl smiled warmly, shattering the crystal and floating down to them.

"Welcome to my sanctuary, Heroes." She greeted. "I am Kasha, Maiden of Shadow, at your service." She bowed her head slightly. "As you have already realized, I'm here to thank you from the bottom of my heart for freeing me and my temple." She bowed to them completely. "It means the world to me." She smiled.

"I had my personal reasons to save this temple." Link mechanically articulated.

"They care, you know?" she asked suddenly.

Link snapped out. "What?" he asked.

"They cared about you, from the moment you set foot in this temple. And they were deathly afraid that something would happen to you." She bit her lip.

"What?" Link asked, feeling they were hiding something for him.

"…" she sighed. "Do you have the attention for a short tale?" she asked.

"Yes." Link raised a brow.

"Good. Listen." The Maiden closed her eyes, gathering her memories.

"Long ago, Hyrule was a single country, prosperous and peaceful. Until one day, Bellum came. The Hero of the nation defied him, and lost. Instead of just killing him, Bellum imprisoned the poor Hero in the Shadow temple. With him out of the way, he went for the Princess. Bellum trapped her in a tower. Then, with them both out of the way, he shattered Hyrule, creating waves that submerged Termina." She stopped there.

"What happened to the Hero?" Link asked, curious about his ancestor's fate.

"He was tortured to death by the Poes inside the Shadow Temple." Kasha breathed, bursting out into tears. "I felt so helpless! I couldn't even help him when Bellum imprisoned me in a crystal! He would put me in front of him, just so I could cry as I heard his screams of pain. I could never sleep. His pained eyes haunted my mind all the time! It was like I felt his blood slowly dripping through my fingers." She cried.

Link frowned and circled her in a hug. "It's okay, he's in a better world now." he comforted her.

"I wish I could help. But day after day, he just got worse, until one day, the Poes were tired of playing with him. So they killed him. And, being the cruel creature Bellum is, he cursed the Hero. Eternal wandering in the Shadow Temple as long as his guardian remained. Plus, he cursed all his descendants to suffer the same way as him and die in the Shadow Temple." She sniffled.

"So… Is that why all the teens looked like each other and were all in a way mutilated?" Link shuddered.

"Yes." Kasha sniffled. "They were all different ages when they died. The Poes tormented them all to death. And they were used as the toys to the monsters inhabiting this temple." She started crying again. "How could I have been so helpless? My temple was overrun by monsters who tortured the Heroes, and I couldn't even help!" she cried.

"It's okay. They're all okay now." Link shushed her. Then, something finally clicked in his mind. "And… the Princess?" he asked.

"The content of the scroll is true." The Maiden of Shadow dried her tears. "It really was the Princess' death." She sighed.

"So… Zelda… Devastated by her love's death, locked herself in her room. One day, Bellum demanded her to be his wife. It was too much, so she…jumped from her tower's window… and she died… Except the Hero's spirit was still imprisoned in the temple's walls, so they were separated forever." He breathed out the last part. "It's such a sad story." He sighed.

"But it's the truth." The Maiden sighed, pushing away from Link, who backed up next to Jolene. The latter was digesting the info silently, horrified and surprised at the same time.

"Well… As my sister, Astrid, has demanded me to do, I am to take you to the Maidens' sanctuary. Whenever you are ready, I will ask you to take my hand so we can go." She smiled, holding out her palm.

Jolene nodded and took her hand, waiting for Link. Link turned back, looking at the door from which they had come in from.

"I'll miss you… Ancestor." He sighed into the wind.

"_Good luck, my child…"_

"Thank you, grandfather. I am happy you are finally resting within the Sacred Realm with your love. After all these years of torment, you deserve it." Link bowed his head slightly, taking Jolene's hand.

Kasha silently smiled, casting her magic.

"_You are more of a Hero than I am, my child. Do not falter like I did. I bid you farewell."_

"Farewell…" Link closed his eyes as the transportation magic took his effect. Right before they disappeared in a purple glow, he sighed out in relief. "Thank you grandfather."

***********************

**Author Notes:**

**No, the Link ghost wasn't REALLY our Link's grandfather. I just didn't like calling him "Ancestor" XD**

**So yesh. A bit dark as a backstory, but like I said, my mind was messed up from watching "The Sixth Sense" XD W00T FOR BEST SUSPENSE/HORROR MOVIE EVUUUUUUR!!!!! :D Haley Joel Osment acts better than any other actor I know XD (Lol:  
"There is a car accident. A young lady broke her back. She died."  
"Can you see her?"  
"Yes."  
"Where is she?"  
"Next to me. Behind my window.") Omg, that scene was SO FRICKIN AWESOME! :D XDDDDD Actually, the first ghost Link encoutered was inspired by the freaky woman who was next to Cole's window XD If you pay attention, she has a wound diagonally over her face when she looks at Cole then walks away XD**

**Okay, enough about that movie ^__^ Back to the fic XD**

**Yay, EVERYBODZY IS SAAAAVED! XD It was really cute X3 The boy with the stitched lips actually came from a TV show called "Ghost Whisperer". Omfg, first time I acciddentally fell on that show, I didn't sleep for two nights straight. I'm not the one for horror movies anyway XD The lady with the stitched lips gave me nightmares for a week O_o Though not any more XD**

**So yeah, basically, like the "Sixth Sense", Link was the guy who could see the dead, and they needed a favour from him so then they could leave him alone :) It's cute X3**

**And the ReDead raped Link XD Naw, just kidding. It would have, but I would've rated this chapter M in that case XD Seriously, next time you get hum- I MEAN bitten by a ReDead, check how they act on you XD Sorry, it's my bitchy-14-year-old-tomboy-girl's-mind that's messed up a bit XD**

**So yeah, enough ranting. Hope you liekd this chapter, I hope it didn't sound rushed :S I didn't try to rush it, I was just happy I could finally type it XD So yeah :) PLEASE REVIEW :D**


	15. The Final Battle: Part 1

**Author Notes:**

**Bit short after such a long time, I admit I was being lazy, but be kind and don't kill me. Till then. Please enjoy :)**

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On both sides of the ivory coloured room, flurries of magic suddenly flashed. One was orange, the other was purple. Then, when the swirling colours finally stopped, Kasha and Medli stepped out, waving at each other. Then, they turned to the front, where the rest of the Maidens were waiting, in a triangle formation: Malina and Sillia diagonally towards the right, Kaliana and Saria diagonally towards the left. At the very peak of the triangle stood Astrid, gazing serenely over the two new arrivals.

"Sister." Kasha bowed, followed by Medli. "We have arrived with the Holders." She announced.

"That, I can see." Astrid smiled serenely. "It is finally time for the final clash. Bring them forward." She motioned to them.

Kasha and Medli bowed once again before leaving place for the four young adults to step out of the flurries.

Link was immediately blinded by the white glow of the room. It was mostly bare, save for the coloured Maidens in a triangle formation in the middle.

"LINK!"

And for that voice. His eyes snapped open as his head whipped around to see Tetra running for him.

"TETRA!" he called back, a huge grin on his face. He darted towards her as well.

They both stopped in the middle, almost crashing into each other. They were calm for a moment as tears of joy leaked down Tetra's face.

"Miss me?" Link asked, opening his arms.

"Like hell I did." Tetra laughed, jumping into his arms, and kissing him roughly.

"Same here." Link chuckled as he returned her kiss.

Jolene and Linebeck, for their part, calmly walked towards each other, and once they were there, cuddled close. "I missed you as well." Jolene sighed in relief.

"So did I." He breathed in content as he kissed her hair.

Once the gap between them closed, Tetra wiped her tears away.

"I was so afraid." She admitted.

"For what?" Link asked.

"You didn't hear what happened to the Hero and all his descendants…?" she asked worriedly.

Link's face fell. "Yes, I did…" he sighed.

"Nothing happened to you, right?" she breathed in horror, putting her hand against his cheek.

"No…" he immediately said. "It was just sad to see all those mutilated teens all waiting for someone to break their curse." He muttered mostly to himself.

"You SAW you dead ancestors?" Tetra stepped back, shocked.

"Yes." Link's simple answer resonated, creating a silence in the room.

Tetra then gulped down nervously. "What did they look like…?" she breathed, both horrified and curious.

"They all looked disturbingly like me. And all wore green tunics and all. But what was evident the most…" he gulped down at the gruesome memories.

"They… You… Saw what happened to them…?" she asked, horrified.

"All of them…" he shuddered, gulping his tears down. "It made me feel so guilty… They had to suffer so much, and I was destined to as well, but I changed destiny's course. It makes me feel guilty for not being able to change it earlier…" he sighed.

"It's okay, love. They're in a happy place now." Tetra breathed, encircling him with her arms.

"Still…" he sighed, looking at the ivory coloured ceiling. "Where are we anyway?" he asked.

"You are located in a sacred temple, the temple of Time, located between the two worlds." Sillia answered.

"Right…" he grinned sheepishly.

Tetra rolled her eyes. "Come on, we're bothering the Maidens." She chuckled, turning to the Maidens, who were now waiting silently for them to finish. Medli took her place diagonally from Saria and Kasha took her place diagonally from Sillia.

"It all comes down to this…" Astrid finally sighed. All four Heroes turned to her. "The final showdown…" she sighed.

"We're ready." Tetra announced for everyone.

"Bellum can bring anything he has." Linebeck cheered.

"We'll kick his ass." Jolene grinned, punching the air.

"And squish him under our feet like the little bug he is." Link finished.

"Great to see you're enthusiastic." Astrid smiled. "Now, listen well. This is how we'll proceed." She took a deep breath as the four young adults' eyes directed towards her. "We will open the gate to the gap between the two worlds. That is where you'll face off with him. When you have defeated him, all you do is walk back through the gate, and Bellum will be gone forever." She explained it as if it was the easiest thing to do in the world.

"You make it sound like it's easy." Link rolled his eyes.

"Oh, well, I beg your pardon, it's harder than it sounds, if it makes you feel better." Astrid smiled.

"Hmm… Now it's worse." He laughed.

"Okay, it's time. Let us open the gate. We wish you luck, Heroes." Astrid bowed, followed by her sisters.

"Ready." Link breathed in deep, drawing his weapon.

"Let's do this." Tetra stretched before drawing her twin scimitars, followed by Jolene while Linebeck drew a long sword.

The Maidens didn't reply as they concentrated, closing their eyes. The Four warriors simply stood in front of the door, waiting for it to open. Finally, with a grunt, it squeaked and moved on two sides, a blinding white light shining from the inside.

"Ready, guys?" Link asked.

"As ever." Tetra replied.

"Then let's do this." He grinned, jumping inside. Not a second later, Tetra followed, then Jolene, and Linebeck closed the pace.

---

At first, everything was white. Then, the elements started forming under their feet. The ground, the sky, the trees, everything. Now… it looked like…

"We're back in Termina Field?" Link asked once he checked his surroundings.

"It looks more like Bellum transformed his arena into Termina Field's design." Tetra noted.

"Alright…" Link looked around. Before he could even take a step, though, a strong wind blew, making them shiver. A flurry of magic suddenly appeared in front of of them, making them trip.

"Who DARES enter my domain…?" a gruff voice boomed.

"It is us, Hero of Time and Princess of Destiny, who are here to get rid of you once and for all!" Link called viciously.

"Didn't… Haven't I gotten rid of those two already?" the voice asked.

"We are the descendants, coming to finish what their ancestors failed to do." Tetra backed Link up, her voice guarded, though.

"Ah… Now I remember…" the voice mused out loud. "I remember… Every scream of agony that escaped the Hero's mouth… and every single one of the Princess's tears when she learned her beloved's death by torture…" the voice snickered. "Now, I remember…" it seemed to laugh at them.

The two Descendants of Destiny gritted their teeth, preventing themselves from saying anything stupid. They simply drew their weapons, glaring at the golden flurry of magic intently.

"Ah… Funny… Why aren't you two dead already?" the voice suddenly asked.

"We're here to finish the job." Link growled.

"You mean you're here to let ME finish MY job, right?" the voice chuckled darkly.

"No. We mean it's time for you to go down, Bellum." Tetra growled.

"Ah, such strong words for such a weak Princess. And such anticipation for such a breakable Hero…" Bellum laughed.

The golden flurry of magic suddenly rose into the air. It compacted into a lightning bolt, pointed towards the ground.

"We'll see who gets to say that in the end, shall we?" Bellum snickered once more before the bolt was released from its invisible restrains, and fell through the ground, cutting easily through the rocks and soil. The ground suddenly cracked, the splits even reaching until under the four pirates' feet. They had to step back a little, even more when the ground started shaking violently.

A large crack suddenly split the ground open in two, making violent shudders go over the ground, throwing all four of the pirates on the ground. Through the dust, Link finally noticed that the huge crack on the ground was opening larger, as if something was supposed to come out.

It turns out so when a golden tentacle with green markings on it with a round patterned end came slamming out, crashing onto the ground forcefully, making another shudder rip through the earth. A lot more tentacles followed the first one, all appearing out of the hole and crashing onto the ground. Once all of them out, they pushed up, carrying their main core.

It was basically a gold/green eyelid, standing around Tetra's size. When it opened, the four pirates were met with an eye with a green iris, the pupil watching them intently.

"Is that what a Bellum is…?" Tetra finally weakly asked.

"I think so…" Link whispered back. At the same time, they all trailed their gaze up at the leviathan monster, towering at least a hundred feet over their heads. It was mostly thin, though, for the fact that it was just a huge eye held up by giant tentacles that sprouted from the ground.

"FEAR MY WRATH!" Bellum roared, sending another gust of wind carrying dust over the pirates, blowing them a few feet behind.

"Aw shit." Link coughed out some dust, lifting his eyes. He was met with a tentacle heading straight for them, intending on crushing them all. "We're screwed." He whimpered.

---

The first phase of the fight was actually avoiding Bellum's tentacles. The only problem was that everywhere they crashed, a new crack opened, soon breaking through the ground. So now, a large arena had been marked by those holes. Almost falling into one, Link realized they lead straight to the center of the world, where lava churned, heat raged intensely, and threatened to annihilate anything that even dared to get near it.

"This isn't working!" Link called once he and Tetra stopped next to each other, panting for breath.

"Well, how do you think we're gonna reach that thing?" she asked rhetorically. "Someone would have to die crushed under one of those tentacles to insert a sword in them." She snickered sarcastically.

Link's eyes widened in recognition. Perfect!

"It's the most awesome plan ever! Thanks Tet!" he grinned, clapping her shoulder before running straight for one of Bellum's incoming tentacles.

"Wha-?" Tetra asked, confused for a moment, then it clicked inside her mind. "LINK! LINK YOU IDIOT! DON'T DO IT!" she screamed after him.

"What's that kid doing!?" Linebeck exclaimed, arriving next to her.

"He's gonna get himself killed!" Jolene backed up.

"LINK! YOU DUMBASS, COME BACK HERE!" Tetra called after him worriedly.

The Hero didn't pay attention. Instead, he drew his weapon and stood right under a tentacle's tracks.

He gulped down, watching as the flat part of the tentacle headed straight down on him, intent on crushing him. Then, his eyes narrowed, and he abruptly lifted his weapon over his head, interrupting the flat part's trajectory.

Bellum crashed right into the sword, stopping only an inch above Link's sweating face. It suddenly screamed in pain, rearing. Unfortunately, the sword got caught in the soft skin, and Link forgot to let go when Bellum lifted his tentacle. To all four pirates' infinite horror, Link was lifted up in the air, hanging on the sword stuck in the tentacle.

At first, he panicked. Then, he realized he could reach Bellum's eye if he went far up enough. Holding on with one hand, he took out a dagger and planted it in the tentacle again. Bellum screeched, trying desperately to throw the human off.

Thankfully, the Hero held strong. After a while, he used his dagger to pull himself up on the tentacle, drawing his sword out as well. One look below his feet proved that he was standing over seventy feet off the ground. Gulping down, he jammed his dagger into Bellum's skin to get a hold and started walking up the tentacle, towards his eye.

From the ground, Tetra's eyes widened when she realized what Link was attempting to do.

"IS HE CRAZY?" she screamed, horrified.

"Looks so…" Linebeck sighed. "He was always this stupid and unpredictable." He muttered.

"GET DOWN FROM THERE, YOU ASSHOLE! YOU'RE ONLY GONNA SERVE TO GETTING KILLED!" Tetra yelled, worried, horrified and angry at the same time.

But Link couldn't hear anything more than his own heart's pounding in his ears. Sweating nervously and fearfully, he climbed up all the way towards Bellum's eye, still jamming the tentacle with his dagger for something to hold on.

Once up the tentacle, he sighed out in relief, but it wasn't over yet. Looking down, he saw double, so he quickly put his head back up, not willing to fall now. Then, taking a deep breath, he carefully sheathed his sword and took out two daggers. Then, jamming them in Bellum's eyelid, he started climbing all the way up to the top.

Bellum screeched and thrashed, desperately trying to throw off the troublesome human that was causing him pain. He swatted tentacles all over his eye, almost always narrowly missing Link.

The latter endured the tentacle whippings until he could put his dagger up and make another hole to pull himself up. Once painfully made his way up, he jammed his two daggers on the top and brought out his sword with one hand. Taking a deep breath, he reared in front of Bellum's vision field, making it screech again. Then, without waiting any longer he jammed his sword straight into Bellum's eye.

Screeching and thrashing, Bellum attempted to throw Link off. The latter quickly retreated and grabbed onto the daggers on the top of Bellum's eye, trying to hold on.

"HE'S TRYING TO THROW HIM OFF!" Jolene exclaimed.

"DISTRACT IT!" Tetra ordered, drawing her bow. Knocking an arrow, she pulled the string all the way back for maximum force, aimed at Bellum's eye and fired.

The arrow planted itself right next to Link's sword, making Bellum screech even more as green blood poured out of the punctures. This only caused Bellum to thrash even harder, threatening to throw Link down to his doom at any given time.

"This isn't working!" Jolene panicked.

"Distract it without harming it then!" Linebeck reasoned.

"Good idea." Tetra gasped, knocking an arrow and letting it fly very close to Bellum. The eye looked down at it, seemingly unfazed, but giving Link time to recover and get up again.

Taking a risky decision, the Hero grabbed his sword again and twisted, wounding the eye even more. Bellum brought his attention back to him, and started shaking again, trying to throw him off. Link finally took a deep breath, and grabbed the sword with both his hands, jumping down, putting all his weight on it. Coupled with Bellum's thrashing, the sword deeply cut the eye all around, wounding it pretty badly.

When the sword finally dislodged, Link's eyes widened in horror.

"Aw, shit." He cursed, feeling him soar down towards the floor. "TetrAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!!!!!" he screamed, hoping for a miracle.

Thankfully, Tetra noticed and screamed in horror as Link plummeted down towards the ground. "HOLD ON, LINK!" she screamed, raising her hands, letting Zelda quickly take over.

Her alter ego quickly cast a spell, sending it towards Link. Nayru's magical dome flickered around him, protecting him as he hit the ground harshly. The dome quickly shattered, leaving Link bouncing and rolling a few times before he stopped, lying on the ground on his back, breathing heavily.

"LINK!" Tetra gasped, running and kneeling next to him. Asides from a few whiplashes randomly everywhere on his body, he seemed relatively unharmed.

"I am NEVER doing that again." He put a hand on his heart to calm it down a bit.

"I know, you okay?" she asked, checking the whiplashes caused by Bellum's tentacles.

"I'll be fine. Help me up please." He groaned.

Smirking, Tetra gave him a hand. He caught it and pulled himself up, dusting his clothes off before looking back at Bellum.

The leviathan monster was now screeching loudly, its greenish blood pouring out of its wounded eye. Soon, a gold whirlwind enveloped it, gradually shrinking.

The group shielded their eyes for a moment, protecting their eyes from the bright light.

And with one last screech, the whirlwind coating Bellum's fallen form exploded, dispersing fine gold dust everywhere.

"Wow…" Tetra marvelled as she opened her eyes.

"It's… Beautiful…" Jolene added, looking at the golden dust.

"But… how come it was so easy…?" Linebeck noted.

Link didn't bother commenting. Like Linebeck had noted, there was something that didn't fit. For millenniums, Bellum had caused destruction and terror… Their ancestors had died so easily under its hands... It couldn't be that it was already defeated…

"Not yet." An evil voice suddenly rang in the air. Gasping, Jolene Linebeck and Tetra turned, looking for the source. Link simply looked ahead, his extra sword drawn.

"Bring it, then." He whispered.

"I will." Bellum snickered.

All the fine golden dust suddenly gathered together, growing and forming a shape. The pirates had to shield their eyes once again. And they only opened it when they heard a fierce roar and something whipping through the air.

Eyelids lifting up, gazes drawn to their new opponent, the four pirates stared in front of them.

And were met with Bellum's new form...

***************

**Author Notes:**

**Hehe, I is teh ewwilness XD ANNOYING AND AWESOME CLIFFHANGERS FOR THE WIND!!!!! XD You'll see more later ^__^**

**Oh well, a bit rushed, I'm not good with writing battle scenes. Until then, hope you liked it, it took some time cuz the author was being lazy *throws a random brick at herself* and yep... STAY TUNED FOR THE LAST TWO CHAPTERS OF BTT! :) PLEASE REVIEW, FOR GOD'S SAKE, YOU'LL MOTIVATE ME SO MUCH MORE TO WRITE IF YOU REVIEEEEEEEEWWWW!!!!!!! TT__TT LATER PEEPZ! :)**


	16. The Final Battle: Part 2

**Author Notes:**

**Very VERY short, I'm sorry, but it's all I got. Besides, it's either this, or discontinued. I don't think any of you want this discontinued... so... yeah... Anyway, it's against my fanfiction-writing religion to discontinue fics xD Anyway, I'll stop ranting, let you to try and enjoy this super short chapter :) **

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Roaring, Bellum's eyes threw back, rearing for an attack. While it was charging, Link took the opportunity to gaze over his opponent.

Bellum was actually still the same as before, except in a smaller version. The eye was smaller, as were the tentacles, but the Hero noticed they were longer.

Why…?

His question was cut short when Bellum dove for the ground, cracking through the earth and sending shockwaves rippling through it. The four pirates dove to the sides, narrowly evading the attack.

And losing focus in the process.

As Jolene landed, a shockwave ran from under her, making her trip backwards. With a cry, she fell against the ground, and not a moment later, felt something slimy running across her skin, enveloping her.

Same for Linebeck as he dodged, but a rock caught him in the back, sprawling him on the ground. He too soon felt slimy tentacles wrapping around him.

And before the two older pirates realized what was going on, they were pulled towards Bellum that seemed to snicker.

"I told you to fear me…" it breathed, gathering gold dust from all around him.

The pirate couple, still confused about what was happening, could only gasp before metal plates closed up on them, shielding them from the outside world. As the golden dust made metal parts that stuck around them, they were also cut off from consciousness.

Seeing that his targets were under his mercy, Bellum floated up and latched onto the back of the metal creature.

"JOLENE! LINEBECK!" Link and Tetra cried out, gasping.

"RUN! RUN LIKE THE COWARDS YOU ARE! If you're smart, you'll submit yourself to me without a fight when I break what's left of Hyrule and enslave the people there! If you aren't smart, you will die." Bellum laughed deeply, the metal monster throwing its head back, laughing.

"We will NEVER give up to you!" Link gritted his teeth, pointing his sword at the metal monster, soon imitated by Tetra.

"And you think those chunks of metal will hurt me? You are fools to think that. Bow to me and I'll kill you quickly." It snickered.

"Never." Link hissed.

"Willing to reconsider that?" the metal goliath laughed, stomping on the floor. A rock spear burst out of from under Tetra's feet, threatening to impale her. Instead, she jumped out of the way, tripping and rolling. Bellum took the moment to wrap a tentacle around her, binding her.

"TETRA!" Link roared, horrified, when Bellum dragged her against him.

"LINK!" she screamed, terrified.

"LET HER GO!" Link demanded, eyes narrowing.

"Come get her." Bellum taunted, setting a tentacle on her throat and wrapping it around it, slowly chocking her.

Link fumed for a moment, then, without a warning, he roared and jumped towards Bellum, sword raised, poised to strike.

Unprepared for the movement, Bellum threw Tetra away, concentrating on blocking Link's quick and furious blows. Tetra, on her side, stopped and rolled, coughing the dust out of her throat. Then, she looked up at Link, who was hacking wildly on the metal armour of the goliath previously holding her captive, avoiding the flying tentacles as much as possible.

Gritting her teeth, she jumped up, attacking Bellum. Now under attack from both sides, Bellum decided to concentrate on one of them, taking out the weakest first. So while Link's hits bounced off its metal armour, he turned to Tetra, swinging a tentacle at her.

With a gasp, she dodged low under it, coming back up and cutting it off. Bellum screeched in pain as the severed tentacle writhed on the ground, green blood oozing out of it.

"Damn, where is this thing's weakness!?" Link growled as his attack easily bounced off of the metal armour.

"His first weak point was his eye, right?"Tetra remarked.

"Yeah." Link agreed as he dodged low and cut another tentacle.

"And… where's his eye now…?" she asked again.

"Behind him…" Link thought out loud.

Both their eyes widened in recognition at the same time. Then, smirking, they nodded, separating between each other. While Bellum attacked the weakest, Tetra, who had posted herself in front of it, Link silently creeped behind Bellum, spotting the eye immediately.

It looked around frantically, but… it looked at Link… and didn't react. The green/gold iris was faded now. Realisation dawned on Link.

He had blinded it.

When it was still in its first form, Link had hurt its eye.

Bellum couldn't see.

Smirking in content, he silently pounced, attacking the eye as it bulged around, trying to sense anything it could.

Too little too late. Link's sword penetrated the eye before it could even do more than react. Screeching, the metal goliath turned to get rid of Link, but switched from Link to Tetra.

The latter quickly reacted, swinging her scimitar at the discovered eye in front of her. Bellum screeched again, trapped. It whirled around to attack Tetra, leaving free passage to Link, who slashed again.

The switch game continued for the following minute, until Bellum finally took his latches off of the metal goliath and floated up in the air, screeching in agony.

The metal parts decomposed, soon showing Jolene and Linebeck inside. Both unconscious now, they quickly fell to the floor next to each other, limp.

The two younger pirates were about to pick them up when Bellum's screeching stole back their attention. In a last desperate attempt to beat the troublesome humans, it swung one of its tentacles at Tetra, who was too busy checking on Jolene and Linebeck to see it.

"TETRA!" Link warned her a bit too late as she raised her eye, just to see a tentacle flying towards her. In less than a second, it had impacted with her, sending her flying towards the other side. She grunted as she rolled and stopped near a lava hole. Trying to get up, she found that her weariness was too much. Worried, she looked back at Link.

"You won't… defeat me… that easily…" Bellum panted, smashing one of its tentacles into the ground. A column of rocks rose from right in front of Link, making him trip back. Bellum took the chance to swing one of its tentacles harshly, sending Link flying back into a pit of lava.

Once Link's blond head had disappeared from view, Bellum started laughing.

"LINK!!!!!" Tetra screamed, her heart stopping. Gritting her teeth, tears massing in her eyes, she unleashed a war cry, jumping up and running towards Bellum, weapons bared, ready to avenge her lover.

Though she was easily intercepted by one of Bellum's numerous tentacles, tripping and falling, panting and crying.

"Link…" she whispered sorrowfully.

"Foolish girl." Bellum laughed, grabbing her neck with one of his tentacles and raising her up in the air. Tetra weakly struggled against its grip, but found that she couldn't anymore.

"Let… me… go…" she pleaded.

"Not until you suffer and writhe in pain." Bellum laughed cruelly.

"Sorry, but that's what happened to the Hero, not the Princess. You got your timeline wrong, and that's what cost you your life, Bellum."

Right after that arrogant voice everyone knew all too well rang out in the open, the tip of a sword was suddenly jammed right through the eye.

There was a moment of silence, and then, Tetra weakly slid from the tentacles to the floor, looking up at the sword protruding from Bellum's eye.

"Y…You… You… fell… into a lava pit!" Bellum choked and gagged.

"Ever heard of a Clawshot?" Link's arrogant voice resounded from behind him.

"N… No…" Bellum's eye rolled to the back of its eyelid, only white stained with green appearing now. When the tentacles fell limp, Link shook the eye off of his sword, making a clean cut on it, severing it in half. The now separated halves of the eye started bleeding, green blood making a puddle on the floor.

As soon as that was taken care of, Link kneeled next to Tetra.

"You okay?" he inquired worriedly.

"Now that you're here." She whispered tiredly.

"Come on, let's go back. The Maidens are waiting for us." He grinned back.

"What about Jolene and Linebeck?" she asked.

"Ssh. You sleep, I'll take care of that." He calmed her.

She nodded. "Thank you. My Hero." She smiled, pushing up for a quick kiss.

"You're welcome. My Princess ." Link replied, and gently set her head in the crevasse of his arm. That's when she lost consciousness.

Grunting, Link carried her up and away, bridal style. Then, he headed for the two adult pirates, and while Jolene was swung over his shoulder, Linebeck's arm went around his neck, seeing as he seemed to recover. And so, the four pirates, finally done with their mission, turned back and waited for the Door of Time to open once again.

As a blinding light flashes, and an invisible double door opened in front of Link, he smiled. So their mission did have an end. Hyrule was safe now. Everything would be alright.

"Come on, you guys." He adjusted everyone over him before he took a step inside the door. A blinding light flashed as they were teleported back to the Temple of Time. "Let's go home."

********************

**Author Notes:**

**Blah, disappointing, I know TT__TT But it's all I got. I don't like this story anymore, and as much as I'd love to discontinue it, I won't. So it's either short chapters or nothing O_o Sorry, being stupid now TT__TT**

**Oh, whatever. I hope this didn't seem TOO rushed to you (coughcough HELL YEAH IT DID! coughcough) but like I said at least two times now, it;s either this or nothing :( Sorry, I disappointed everyone out there who has been following this, and I'm terribly sorry. It's just that this fic doesn't interest me anymore, so I'm kinda writing it more as an obligation than a passtime.**

**Anyway, stay tuned for the next chapter, that will be out God knows when. Holy sh!t, this story's been going on since December 2008, and I haven't even finished it yet, while 5 other stories (2 stories, 3 oneshots) have been published since December 08 O_o Damn, I suck TT__TT**

**Anyway, I won't ask you to review, because I'm not worth it, but if ever you feel like telling me how lazy I am, and how bad this chapter was, then send me a review :)**

**Thank you for all your support, you guys ^__^ I really appreciate everything you do for me :)**


	17. End of the Trilogy

**Author Notes:**

**omFUCKINg, BTT IS FINALLY FINIIIIIIISHED!!!!!!!! I thought it would never end, but here it is, folks :D Last chapter of Between the Two :D Read on, it's a bit short (2000 words) but it should do. Besides, I couldn't find much to put in here...**

**PS: Reference to mature themes in the first part, it fades away after the first 500 words though xD**

**Anyway, enjoy this last chappie ^_^**

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The flash disappeared as soon as they stepped out of the Door of Time. Unable to hold himself up anymore with three people on him, Link's legs gave out, and he fell down with a tired sigh. Closing his eyes for a moment, he stopped to catch his breath, but found that his vision was swimming, his weariness and wounds finally affecting him.

"No…" he resisted, not wanting to give up so close to his goal. "No…"

"It's alright, Hero."

Hearing that voice, Link relaxed. "Thank you Astrid." He smiled, eyes still shut as darkness started overtaking his senses.

"No, thank YOU, Heroes. Now rest. Sleep, and we shall take care of the rest."

"Kay." He only muttered before his lips curled up into a smile and he blacked out.

---

He woke up on a soft surface, and, groaning, he turned around to feel a resistance. When his vision was completely back, he realized he was lying next to Tetra. Blushing, he grinned and put his closest arm around her. Then, smiling, he closed his eyes again.

"Any particular reason why you're trying to get closer to me while we're both in the same bed?"

Link smiled at that voice and smirked, eyes still closed. "Maybe I just wanna celebrate?" he tried.

"Don't." Tetra just smiled.

"I won't." Link chuckled as he rolled over her and grabbed her, rolling again. In the end, Tetra ended up on top of him as they both smiled. "Now we're much fitter to celebrate." He breathed, kissing her once.

"I'm not so sure." Tetra smirked, putting her arms around Link's neck.

Link only chuckled in response as he kissed her again. Kisses all followed each other as Tetra's hand trailed down his bare back, dangerously heading for his trousers. They only snapped back to reality when Link hissed in pain and something slippery coated Tetra's hand, stopping in its tracks.

"Link..." Tetra gasped, quickly removing her hands and rolling away. "We shouldn't do this yet." Her eyes fell.

Link smirked and gasped in pain as he straightened. "And I thought girls were supposed to bleed the first time they did it..." he chuckled, soon hissing in pain and clutching his side. "Damn... What the hell...?" he groaned, removing his hand coated in blood.

"You should have rested before trying anything..."

Link groaned and turned around as Tetra edged further, blushing. "Hey, not my fault you put us both in the same bed, Astrid." He grinned as he looked at the Maiden of Time.

The latter rolled her eyes and sighed. "We just thought you'd recover quickly next to each other." She frowned, raising a brow.

"Well you were right." The Hero chuckled as he sat up straight and clutched his wound, now bleeding through the bandages. "At some extent." He winced.

"Let me see that." Tetra sighed, springing up from behind him and throwing her left arm around his neck as her right touched his wound. A soft yellow glow ran over his wound, healing it.

"Thanks." Link sighed in relief, turning around and kissing her before turning back to Astrid who was amusedly watching their antics.

"Done?" she asked wryly.

"Done." The couple replied, chuckling simultaneously.

"Good. Can you guys walk?" the Maiden inquired.

"If she can't, I'll carry her." Link smirked as he slipped off the bed and held his hand out at Tetra.

"I can take care of myself." Tetra blew him a raspberry and smirked, jumping off herself. She only lost her balance on the last step and stumbled forward. Thankfully, her Hero caught her in time and held her close to his chest.

"You were saying, Princess?" he smirked.

"Shut it and follow Astrid." Tetra grinned, taking a few steps forward with Link following right behind as the Maiden of Time led them to their pirate companions.

---

The two younger pirates were soon done twisting in the corridors, following Astrid. Soon, they spotted Jolene and Linebeck sitting next to each other on a bed, cuddling close and giggling, and sneaking kisses in between.

"Jolene! Linebeck!" Tetra cried, catching their attention. The pirate couple broke away and grinned, waving at their younger companions.

"HEY!" Jolene called, turning around, soon followed by Linebeck. Tetra laughed as she flew into the older pirates' arms, finding the comfort she had found during her previous adventure. Jolene was there, not when she was a child, but when she was in growth towards adulthood.

"Sup." Link simply grinned as he high fived Linebeck.

"Looks like we finally beat Bellum, Hero boy." The latter grinned.

"Looks like it." Link smirked.

"It's finally over!" Tetra sighed out, relieved.

"It sure is." Astrid smiled from behind them. All four of them shut up and looked at her.

"So… got any other errands you'd like us to run, Astrid?" Link smirked.

"No thank you. You have done everything you could… Thank you so much. All the thanks in the world couldn't express our gratitude, my sisters and I." The Maiden smiled. As if on cue, the six other Maidens appeared behind her in whirlwinds of their respective colours.

"Sup." Link greeted again, a smile dawning on each Maiden's lips as Tetra slapped the back of his head.

"Be respectful, douche." She warned.

"No, we should be the ones to be respectful." Sillia cut in.

"You have destroyed Bellum." Saria smiled.

"And have saved the Hylians, along with Hyrule." Medli grinned.

"But you have saved not only the Hylians." Kasha smiled in Link's direction, sending him the second sense. The Hero bowed his head for a brief moment in respect for the people she was talking about.

"But Termina's restless souls as well." Malina gave them a nod.

"The damned are free, the evil has been purged." Kaliana bowed lightly.

"And you have saved both Termina and Hyrule from utter chaos and destruction." Astrid finished. "And the world is at debt to you for that." She finished.

"Great! So… that means… no more temples…?" Tetra asked.

"No more temples." Sillia confirmed.

"No more monsters?" Linebeck asked.

"No more monsters." Saria giggled.

"No more puzzles and weapons?" Jolene groaned in satisfaction.

"No more puzzles and weapons." Kaliana grinned.

"No more dead ghosts of my mutilated ancestors?" Link whimpered sarcastically.

"No more of those." Kasha started laughing. "I'll personally make sure nothing like that ever happens in MY temple." She grinned.

"Good to hear." Link grinned back. Kasha giggled again and stopped.

"And now, we must part ways. All of us have our islands to govern, and we must go back to our people. Besides, Tetra, your father is looking high and low for you." Astrid chuckled.

"Whoopee." Tetra groaned, rolling her eyes sarcastically.

"It won't be that bad. In the worst case scenario, we can just yell at him and run away." Link suggested.

"Again?" Tetra smirked. "That tactic's getting pretty old." She laughed.

"It's all I got, unless you want to kill him and get it over with." The Hero shrugged.

"Link!" Tetra gasped, slapping the back of his head. "How could you!? No matter what, he is your King, and my father!" she frowned.

"And you're my Princess, right?" the latter chuckled, enlacing her again.

"Of course…" she sighed, desperate.

"Well then, we shall be taking our leave. One by one." Astrid stepped back as Sillia, Maiden of Light, advanced forward.

"With my parting words, Heroes, I bestow upon thee the blessing of Light. May it accompany you throughout your life and aid you in any situation. Thank you for freeing me and saving the world. Now, accept my blessing." She threw a fine golden dust over them. Once it settled, the four pirates glowed yellow for a moment, then it faded, along with the Maiden as she returned to her appropriate Isle.

Second, Malina, Maiden of Fire, advanced for them. "With my goodbyes, Heroes, I bestow upon thee the protecting of Fire. May it prove to be useful throughout everything, and I wish you the happiest life. Thank you." She did the same as Sillia, except her powder was shimmering red. Then, she disappeared while the red glow on the pirates fainted away.

Then, Saria came forward and bowed lightly. "As for me, I bestow upon thee the life of the Forest. Accept my blessing, and may it prove useful. Bye!" she giggled childishly, spinning around on one foot as she sprinkled green dust over the pirates. Then, she disappeared as the humans absorbed the blessing.

Next, Kaliana, Maiden of Water, stepped forward and smiled serenely. Then, she spread her hands apart, and a fine blue dust sparkled over the four friends. "With my leave, I shall bestow upon thee the power of Water. May the sea be favourable to you in your sailing and may the waves carry you carry you safely over the oceans as you scour the land of your ancestors." She smiled, then disappeared.

In fifth place came Medli, the Maiden of Spirit, and she jumped until them, bowing low in front of them. "With my goodbyes, I shall lend you the power of Spirit. May the spirits of the world roam and be free as they help you in any way they can." She giggled before bursting in a fine orange powder that sprinkled all over the Heroes, soon absorbed by their organism.

The before-last Maiden, Kasha, Maiden of Shadows, then stood up forward and bowed. "May the shadows flow around you and hide your fears and worry. May your ancestors hide in the shadows and watch over you. Do not fear the darkness." She spun on her heel once, and then she was gone as purple dust circled them once and set on them.

"Thanks, Kasha." Link whispered with a smile as Astrid came forward.

"As for me, I will bestow upon thee the blessing of Time. Time and space, may it bend to your wishes. May your life be the fullest you could wish for. And may the Goddesses watch over you." Astrid smiled as a bright turquoise light engulfed all four of them. Forced to close their eyes as not to be blinded, the four pirates blacked out.

---

They all woke up simultaneously with the feeling of hard wood under them. Tetra was the first to realize their location.

"WE'RE BACK ON THE RED WOLFOS!" she squealed in delight as the three others looked around them. A beautiful sun was setting over the horizon as the anchored ship swayed to the beat of the waves under it.

"Hush for a moment, let's enjoy this time together." Link chuckled as he got up and walked to the front, mounting the Wolfos structure and looking towards the sunset. Soon, Tetra joined him in his lap. Later on, he felt Linebeck and Jolene standing behind him, each having one hand on each of his shoulders.

"Our adventure might have been short…" Linebeck remarked.

"…But our memories will last a lifetime." Jolene finished for him.

"But now, we can go back to our normal lives…" Linebeck smiled.

"…Knowing that we saved the world." Jolene finished again, a slight chuckle emanating from the couple.

"Now hush, enjoy the sunset, it's been a while we haven't seen it." Link smirked.

"It's beautiful." Tetra emptily muttered, making herself comfortable in Link's arms.

"It is, my little Hero." Link chuckled.

"You're the Hero, I'm the Princess." Tetra muttered back.

"But who knew…?" the Hero quietly whispered.

There was a moment of silence when the wind blew. Then, Jolene piped up. "Knew what?"

"Who knew, that after a long and wild chase…" Link sighed.

"All around Hyrule AND Termina." Tetra added with a chuckle.

Link chuckled as well, and with his last words, he kissed her. "Our adventure would skid to a stop right Between The Two?"

****************

**Author Notes:**

**If the last three lines confused you, read them again with just the dialogues, not the stuff saying who talked and their actions. Anyway.**

**Woww, you would never imagine how hard making the last three words the title was :O The damn words would NEVER FIT! This is the best I got xD Besides, it's my trademark ending, so suck it up and live with it xD**

**WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO It's finally finished! I'm dancing around, Damn, this stupid thing took me ever since December 08 to finish O_o The deadline was supposed to be February 09 xD I'M SO LAAAATE! xD**

**Anyway, hope this didn't suck too much. As for stats...**

**Words: 76 000 something xD**

**Chapters: 17**

**Personnal fav chapter: The Shadow Temple :D IT ROCKED! :D I love how it came out, it was actually the only temple that came out smoothly ^_^**

**Personally hated chapter: All the temples were a pain xD**

**Anyway, I'd love to hear what you guys thought of it :D Please review for this very last chapter, I'd really appreciate it if you did :) And tell me about your fav/ not fav chaps xD I need an occupation ^_^**

**Also, a bit of shameless advertising. Before you turn your heads away and groan, PLEASE READ!**

**_You need a good story to read?_ Got nothing much to do? Then read Dark Futures (Rurouni12065). Why am I promoting this, you ask? Well, it's simple! It was a discontinued fic until I picked it up :) So after chapter 33 (including 33) it's all my base and Rurouni's editing ^_^ READ IT PLEASE, AND LEAVE A COMMENT! :D**

**So yeah, please search _Dark Futures_ on the story search bar, or Rurouni12065 in the author search bar. Taste of the summary...** "The hero doesn't always get the girl and live happily ever after. Sometimes, endings are bitter sweet, and reunions are rare. With a war brewing on the horizon, can the Hero of Time return to his beloved homeland and to the Princess of Destiny? DF Returns"

**Anyways, I'm done here ^_^ Thank you so much for sticking with me throughout the whole thing, specially Principessa Dell'Opera, CrimsonDarkness 0013 and MegamanSora ^___^ I always loved you guys' reviews :) So yep :) Later peepz! :D**

**PS: PLEASE DON'T FORGET TO REVIEW! Even a single word will make me happy :)**

**~LoZ4Life**


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